Digimon Adventure After Tri
by Kinira
Summary: One year after Meicoomon's death a new DigiDestined was chosen by the Homeostasis. Akira Tanaka is paired with a Dynasmon who was once the protector of the digital world. But there is a problem. Both of them have a lot of temper and do not like to be ordered around by others. That said they, and the other DigiDestined, must stop a new threat. (AU because of that Kizuna movie)
1. Chapter 1 - Meeting!

**Author' note: **Welcome to my very first English written fanfic. Forgive me if some sentences sound kind of odd. The original fanfic is called Digimon Adventure 04. Unfortuneately this title is already given so I have to use the title Digimon Adventure After Tri.

**Another note: **Originally this was a sequel to Digimon Adventure tri. However, thanks to that Kizuna movie showing us Meiko and **Meicoomon**, this fanfic is now officially an an alternate universum where Meicoomon is not reborn.

* * *

Chapter 1 – Meeting! Welcome to the Digital World!

As he calmly inhaled and exhaled, his memories penetrated his head. Bad memories. Painful memories. He didn't know how much time had passed. He didn't know where he was. All his memories were in a blur. Why? He knew that the memories were bad and painful, but he couldn't remember so accurately... Angry, he began to growl before turning a blind eye. The Digimon blinked a bit. Around him it was pitch black. The first question that chased him through his head was where he was. He didn't know. Like so many things. Although his memories were greatly clouded, he knew why he was here. He was here to recover from the wounds he had once received in a terrible fight. For this he lay down to sleep. But how long ago this fight had been? He couldn't say that. The Digimon slowly inhaled in and out. He himself held his arms crossed, his palms pointing to his broad shoulders, while his legs were slightly angled to his body. The wings hung weakly from his back. He tried to move them, but it caused him great pain.

Nevertheless, he moved them again and again until they were completely upended and folded. Now he tried to move his arms and legs. This was much easier for him and immediately he stood firmly to the ground with both legs, while his arms hung loosely to the side. Then he crossed them again in front of his body to gather energy. When he had gathered enough energy, he released it in the form of a wyvern, which flew through the darkness and finally broke against the wall. The rock was loosened and fell to the ground, causing a bright ray of light to fall into his eyes. He went to the rock and smashed a larger hole in the wall with his claws. Immediately the opening was so large that he could slip through. Holding his claw in front of his eyes, he made his way into the light. It hurts in his eyes, as he had not used them for a long time. As his eyes got used to the light, he immediately noticed that the environment was different. What had happened in the meantime?

* * *

Annoyed, Akira Tanaka looked out the window. Her brown hair was tied together into a braid that rested on her right shoulder. The teacher talked about conquering anyone over an area of any country. So she believed it at least because she didn't pay attention at all. The class was lessoned in history... Nothing more boring than that she thought. The man next to her watched with interest. His brown, rather rough hair seemed to fall naturally. Kinira heard something, but was too immersed in her thoughts.

"... aka... Tanaka... TANAKA!" the teacher exclaimed, and she immediately shuddered: "Please answer my question."

"What was the question?" she asked.

The teacher sighed briefly before asking the question again:

"When did the Edo period end, Tanaka?"

"Um... nineteen hundred... seventy-seven?"

"No. The correct answer is 1868."

"Could you please tell me what the movement that had ended the Edo period was called?"

"What was her name?" she muttered to herself, "Ah! It's called Tokugawa, right?"

"Tokugawa was the first name of the last shogun of the Edo period. The correct answer is the Sonno joi movement."

"Ah yes. Right."

The bell just rang for the break

"Good. This is the end of the lesson. Tanaka, I'd love to talk to you again towards the end of the next break," the teacher decided.

"Y-yes."

Annoyed, she cycled back home. She stepped on the pedals vigorously, because she wanted to come home before her sister arrived. She would certainly be angry, as Akira hadn't been paying attention in class again. What is she supposed to do? The lessons were boring and she didn't need most of it. Akira Tanaka was 18 years old. At her former school, she had always fought with the other students because she hated injustice like the plague because the other classmates always bullied a younger student who seemed strange. However, this student was also easily exploited. She was naive and bona fide. Akira shook her head to dispel these thoughts. What did it bring to her?

She was kicked out of school after hitting a student badly. And she wanted to be a policewoman... Foolish... Akira had trouble controlling her anger. For the most part, because she had learned at a young age that her parents were not her biological ones. When her parents died, she was just a year old. They were on their way home. She and her parents were involved in a car accident that only she had survived.

Her 15-year-old sister Sera, who grew up with relatives, took her with her. But Akira closed herself off to the relatives when she learned that they were not her biological parents. Now seventeen years later, she lived with her sister and her boyfriend Shin in Shibuya, Tokyo. Akira eventually reached the apartment block, locked the bike and stormed up the stairs to her apartment door. She opened it with the key. However, as she noticed, someone was already at home, seeing Sera's shoes standing neatly next to each other. That's why she sneaked quietly through the hallway. Many pictures hung on the wall - Shin and Sera in their younger years together with three other children. Sometimes Akira wondered who the other three were, but when she asked her older sister, she didn't get an answer.

"Akira? Is that you?" a voice asked.

/Damn.../, she thought and went into the living room.

There, her sister sat at the dining table and read the newspaper. When she looked up, her younger sister recognized her serious eyes.

"Akira..." Sera began to speak.

Her voice sounded disappointed.

"What?" Akira replied annoyed, entwining her arms in front of her chest.

"The history teacher has called me today... He says your transfer to high school is at risk."

"Well?" annoyed, she wanted to go to her room.

"If you don't have a degree, you can't become a policewoman!" exclaimed Sera.

"Who cares! Why did we move back to Japan?! Explain that to me!" she screamed, banging her clenched fist against the wall.

"We've talked about it before. Shin-"

"Shin, Shin, Shin! " she interrupted her: "It's all about Shin!"

"That's not true, Akira." now her sister became angry, but tried to stay calm.

"That's certainly true. When is there something to eat that I like and that Shin doesn't like?! When do we do something I like?!"

"Akira, stop! " her sister shouted and approached her.

"I should stop?! You are the one who is blind to love! I'm sure Shin is going to go to bed with someone else because you're infertile!"

Sera pulled out and gave her sister a resounding slap, which caused her to tumbling back.

"I forbid you to talk to me like that!" she grumbled.

Akira looked at her in silence. As always, her older sister could not read the expression in her eyes. Then she turned around, went to the hallway and then up the stairs to her room. Meanwhile, Sera sat back on the chair and held a hand in front of her eyes before she began to cry. Just three minutes later, another cheerful-sounding voice shouted:

"I'm back, Sera!"

Shin opened the door before hearing sobs. Immediately, he dropped his bag and ran into the living room, where he saw his girlfriend, who was desperately trying to hide her tears.

"Sera?" he said, terrified, kneeling next to her: "What happened?"

"Me and Akira... We argued again..." she said.

"The argument must have been quite violent..."

"It was... When she asked me about my infertility, I became angry and I slapped her... After that, she went into her room without losing another word..."

Shin straightened up again and took her in his arms. Calmingly, he stroked her across her back until she was able to pull herself together and look him in the eye.

"If I hadn't told her that our parents died in a car accident..." she said, looking at her boyfriend with sad eyes.

"At some point, however, she would have found out, Sera."

"I know..." she sighed, looking at the newspaper in front of her.

It read in capital letters: "Scientists are trying to find a new weapon against Digimon!"

Shin picked up the newspaper and crumpled it through his hands. Sera could see the anger.

"They really believe that Digimon is dangerous..." Shin raved.

"They don't know the Digimon exactly..." Sera sighed.

"Yeah."

Akira's older sister remained silent.

"It is better to let the past rest," she said after a felt eternity.

"Do you think so? Finally, we still hope that one day we will see her again."

Sera nodded at Shin and sighed resignedly. Old memories came up in her. She really wanted to see her again - she who had always laughed with her. Shin, too, wanted to see him again - he, whom he regarded as a brother.

Angry, Akira threw her bag on the chair. Then she took out her phone and lay down in bed. Above her bed was a picture of a forest with a deer. He looked into the sky. Sighing, she held her phone in front of her face and began writing with her boyfriend from America. Akira once lived with Sera and Shin in the United States. At that time she had problems, but she was happy there. Here, in Japan, there was no real freedom. She missed the time when she was standing in the street with her boyfriend and chewing gum. She missed the time she had slept with him, although Sera forbade it because she thought she was still young. She missed the time she took up with him against the city's worst thugs, only to end up in a hospital afterwards. Basically, she missed her boyfriend a lot.

"Hey, Jack. What are you doing right now?" she texted on her phone.

"Eat breakfast. And you?" her boyfriend asked via text message.

"Lying in bed."

"Have you argued with your sister again?"

"100 points for the candidate."

"Great!"

"Say... When are you going to visit me?"

"Hm... Akira?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry... But..." he sent the message before she could finish writing.

"But what?" she became angry.

"I have a new girlfriend."

":("

"Listen... You were great and so... But I don't see you anymore..."

"So you just wanted sex, didn't you?!"

"That's not true... But I grew up... I can't let myself be dragged into brawls anymore..."

"And who is this slut?!"

"I'm not going to tell you that."

"You idiot! I hate you!" she threw her phone against the wall.

Tears had formed in her eyes and she was furiously gritting her teeth.

"_You have mail!_ " the cheerful voice of the phone rang out.

"What?" Akira ripped out of her anger and sadness.

She got up and took the phone in her hand. Actually it should be broken by the impact. Astonished, she opened the text message from the unknown man, who called himself a guardian.

"_Do you want to save the world, Akira?_" the text message asked her.

"Save the world?" she repeated.

A new message appeared. As if someone was watching her. As if someone were constantly answering her questions.

"_We ask you again, Akira Tanaka. Do you want to save the world?_"

Immediately, she typed a yes to the Guardian. Why not? Just escape the boring everyday life.

"Good... Hold your phone against your computer."

Why would she hold her phone against the computer that was on her desk? But if she could save the world, maybe she would become rich. Then she wouldn't have to work anymore. So she did. She held the phone with her left hand outstretched to the computer. As if by magic, the screen began to light up. How could that be? The computer was off. Or had she fallen asleep? Suddenly, she was sucked into the computer. At first she saw many lights around her, which were getting faster and faster. But they stopped abruptly. A glitter formed in front of Akira.

"_Welcome._" the glitter replied.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"_You can call us guardian. We called you here._ "

"Why? Is that a bad joke?!"

"_This is no joke, Akira._"

"Why do you know my name?!"

"_The ones we choose have been the ones we've been watching since childhood_."

"Uh, yes... And I'm supposed to buy you that?" she raised her eyebrow sceptically.

"_You are the exception, Akira. We've only been watching you for a year... You will get along with him pretty well, because you share the same traits._"

"He? Who do you mean?"

"_Someone who once protected the digital world from the darkness._"

"Aha..."

"_It's time you crossed the line between the two worlds._"

As a result, the environment changed again and she was high above in the air. At first there was a resistance that kept her in the sky, but suddenly it had disappeared and she fell to the ground. Screaming, Akira rowed with her arms, somehow trying to stay in the air or at least prevent the impact. Then she closed her eyes when she realized that her attempts were in vain. Eventually she felt something under her, before it rose a little and she landed completely on the ground. She then lost consciousness. Several hours later Akira woke up again and immediately saw a pair of yellow eyes. The eyes blinked twice.

"Are you finally awake?" the creature asked, slightly annoyed.

At first she did not really understand what was going on, but soon her eyes widened. She jumped up in terror and then took several steps back.

"A monster!" she shouted.

"Nice to get to know you too... Man... If I hadn't accepted his offer..." the creature quipped: "I should say something like, "I've been waiting for you for a long time." But that would be a lie, because I only know of your existence since yesterday."

The being himself made no effort to show his scum against the stranger.

"Who are you?" was her hesitant question.

"Wanyamon," he replied succinctly.

"What are you?"

"A Digimon."

"What?!" Akira screamed, jumping back a few steps.

"King Drasil... My ears!"

"King Drasil?" she repeated after calming down: "You mean the world tree from Norse mythology."

"Norse mythology? I don't know what you're fascinated by, human... King Drasil is the name of the god of the digital world."

"My name is Akira!"

"Yes, yes, human."

"And what exactly is the digital world?" she asked.

"This is the digital world, human." Wanyamon hopped to Akira and then jumped on her head.

"Hey, get off, Digimon!" she raved.

"Call me Wanyamon, human."

"Why should I do this, Digimon? You call me a human and not Akira."

"One to zero for you, Akira." the Digimon growled.

"Even better, Wanyamon." she began to smile and handed her hands to Wanyamon to lift him off her head.

However, as the hand approached the Digimon's body, he bit hard. With a sound of pain, she hurled Wanyamon against a tree.

"So you're looking for a fight?!" the Digimon grumbled after recovering a little.

"If you want to make it happen!" she shouted again.

Immediately spat Wanyamon soap bubbles. The bubbles themselves collided with Akira's body, but nothing else happened. Both then remained silent. The Digimon started smiling and she answered it until suddenly Wanyamon bit her again. This time it was her right arm.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Let go, Wanyamon!" she shook her hand angrily.

Wanyamon, however, had bitten himself firmly in her arm. Eventually, she hurled him back against a tree, causing him to let go and slide to the ground. Furiously, she looked at him again before she made her way. Her thoughts revolved around how stupid, how annoying he was. But what Akira didn't know was that without a partner in the digital world, she was easily attacked by evil Digimon. After a while, she began collecting wood for a fire. But there were two problems. First, she couldn't find wood, and second, she didn't know how to make a fire. Frustrated, she sat down on the floor and somehow tried to keep warm. Tiredness quickly overcame her and immediately Akira had fallen asleep. She didn't dream anything. Why? She was angry and whenever she was angry and frustrated, she had no dreams. Suddenly, a clapping sound was mixed in her sleep. Akira opened her deer-brown eyes and tried to hear where the noise came from. Again it sounded, this time even louder. It sounded like two scissors hitting each other. Akira's heart began to race. What was that noise? She couldn't assign it, but she forced herself to breathe slowly. Suddenly something raced towards her and she fell to the ground when something touched her nearly. The something flew over her and made a turn in the air. Only now did she see what that was. It was a huge black insect. Despite the blackness of the night, Akira could see that it had four legs, two arms, which were between the front and rear legs, and two large scissors. She estimated the size at just over five metres. The GranKuwagamon's orange eyes sparkled menacingly, while its four thin wings moved quickly back and forth.

/Why is this happening to me?/ was her first thought.

The GranKuwagamon raced back towards her as she held her hands protectively in front of her head. The eyes were closed with fear. She would die now. She would die now! Akira believed that time had stopped, because she felt no pain. As she slowly reopened her eyes, she recognized large, dragon-like, purple wings and a white chest and hip guard with small, golden teeth at the waist.

Between the two armour parts were bright purple scales. However, they could not be seen with the naked eye. The back of the thighs was decorated with golden lines that met at one point, forming a cross. A golden ring swayed the beginning of the lower thigh. From there, the legs up to the ankles were equipped with white protectors. However, these consisted of two parts, so that the Digimon could move his legs better. At the heels sat a row of golden teeth to the decoration. The newly released Digimon briefly took a look at Akira. His red eyes were straight under a white helmet with two forward-facing horns. Under the helmet and eyes was a gold metal part. The Digimon screamed briefly before throwing the GranKuwagamon into the air. It flew up and hurled the insect-digimon at a tree that stood a few meters behind Akira. Now she could see the rest of the digimon.

On the chest protection was a golden, round jewel. The shoulder plates were very large and seemed to be a bit of a hindrance. There, too, this digimon bore small, golden teeth for decoration. His arms reached up to his knees. While the upper arms were unprotected, the Digimon wore armour on the forearms. These were divided into three levels. The first and second levels were white; the last level was bright purple. The armguards reached the Digimon up to the wrists. The hands themselves had five claws. Akira could see a red jewel on the inside of the hands, embedded in a golden frame. She wondered for what the jewels were good for. The belly of the Digimon was whitewashed and protected him from some attacks. The front of the thighs was white, while the ends of the cross-shaped lines that Akira saw from the back of the thighs pointed to a yellow jewel. The knee savers had red, square "eyes". The protectors of the lower legs looked the same from the front as those from the back. At the end of the foot sat a golden triangle, which protected the tip.

The eyes of the Digimon showed terrible anger towards the GranKuwagamon. The latter, however, did not recognize this anger and raced blindly towards the strange Digimon. It closed his eyes and around his body gathered energy, which grew ever larger and soon took the form of a wyvern. Then it released the wyvern and it raced towards the black insect. GranKuwagamon was captured by the wyvern and pushed back several meters. It tried to hold its ground against the energy mass, but in the end it died screaming in pain.

Akira watched the unequal fight, and as the stranger Digimon approached her, she retreated in fear. The Digimon eventually knelt down. One knee was on the ground, while one claw rested on it.

"Don't be afraid," the Digimon said to Akira.

The voice of the Digimon seemed calm. But she believed it was just a facade. Eventually she had seen the eyes of the Digimon, the hate-feeling eyes.

"Leave me alone..." Akira said, stagnantly.

"Do you really want that?" the Digimon asked with an irritated tone.

She was silent and looked to the ground.

"I'll tell you something. If you want to survive here alone, try it. But you've seen you get attacked, human.

Especially the word human said this Digimon with strong contempt.

"Wanyamon?" was her question.

Was that really Wanyamon? The Digimon she had hurled against a tree. She didn't hope that this Digimon was really Wanyamon - for she had seen his strength, and it was frightening. To her worst guess, the Digimon nodded.

"Believe me," began Wanyamon's mega-level: "I wouldn't have helped you... but! But thanks to someone who had scolded me, I had to help you. I also have a deal with him. I gain strength when I connect with a human being."

"And this human... am I?"

"I would rather have another person... But yes. You are this person."

"Why me? Why am I this person?"

"Ask him, not me."

Again, she remained silent. She thrust her hands into her skirt pockets, only to notice that something was in her right. She embraced the thing by hand and pulled it out. It wasn't a cell phone she had. It was something else. Akira looked at the thing more closely. This was not round but also not rectangular, but had a light purple colour and was palm-sized. In the middle of the item was a grey-green screen. The screen was framed by a dark purple circle. At the edge of it sat three golden circles. One was on the left side, the other two on the right. A small black antenna sat on the left side of the device.

"What is that?" asked Akira.

"As far as I know, this is a digivice. He had told me that this would divert your feelings to me so that I could become stronger," he explained.

"Hm..." she pondered loudly, biting her lower lip slightly.

"If you want more specific words - Each trait influences each other to reach the next form..." he shrugged with his shoulders.

"I just wondered how exactly this is happening, Wanyamon."

"I'm no longer called Wanyamon... Wanyamon is my training level, man."

"Aha?" she raised her eyebrow: "And what's your name now?"

"You probably like to know, wouldn't you?"

"Well... Then I talk to you with Wanyamon or Digimon... Since you don't want that, you should give me your name!"

"No."

Both then remained silent. But it was a crushing silence.

"Well, you won. I'll tell you," dignified, but then took a break.

Again, a long silence occurred.

"I'm waiting," Akira said at one point, but the Digimon in front of her didn't want to give an answer.

When she was about to shout at him to call her the damn name, he answered succinctly:

"Dynasmon."

"Huh?" she blinked in amazement.

Akira did not expect him to reveal his name to her.

"Do you have such bad ears, human?" asked Dynasmon, irritated.

"No... I just didn't think you'd call your name.'

"You thought wrong, human."

"Could you finally stop calling me that, Digimon?!" she exclaimed annoyed.

"And? You don't call me Dynasmon... You call me Digimon!"

"Because you just called me human!"

"Pah!" he looked at her with angry eyes.

"Now we are back in this discussion..." Akira sighed: "And it leads to nowhere..."

"I think so too..." Dynasmon wanted to add the word man, but he thought differently: "Akira."

"At least we now agree, Dynasmon..."

Both looked at each other a bit before Dynasmon wrapped himself in a light and shrank again. When the light faded, Wanyamon lay on the ground, but still looked at her.

"Hey! I'm hungry!" complained little Digimon.

"Okay... And where can we find something to eat?" was her question.

"No idea," he replied defiantly.

"Hm..." she thought again before she started to move.

"Where are you going, Akira?!" he shouted after her.

"I'm looking for something to eat!" she turned around briefly so she could answer him better.

"Ah... Hey, wait for me!" Wanyamon hopped after her.


	2. Chapter 2 - Annoying people

Chapter 2 – Annoying people

"Akira!" Wanyamon groaned: "I'm hungry!"

"Do you see something to eat here? No," she replied coolly.

"Why did you have to go to a desert?!" the in-training digimon quipped.

"You were the one who said we were going to the left, not to the right!"

Both had lost their way in a desert, searching in vain for food. The midday sun burned relentlessly on the two as they made their way through the desert. In addition to a few power fats that were not connected with cables, there was a meter-high cactus. While Akira went step by step, Wanyamon lay on her head. According to his own words, the sand was too hot for him to hop on. Akira believed, however, that he was only looking for an excuse to be on her head. Because the in-training digimon loved to be on her head. When the two of them passed a cactus again, she sat down in its shadow.

"Why do we stop?" asked Wanyamon, irritated, "Do you have no stamina, human?"

"How many... Times... Did I... Told you... you..." she quid.

"You don't sound good," the in-training digimon said.

"I'm dying... because… of.. de... hydration..."

"De... hydration?"

"Water... lack..."

"Hey! You can't die here!" Wanyamon yelled, "How can I get stronger without you?!"

Akira remained silent and looked at her partner with half-open eyes. Then, as if she had been knocked over, she hit the ground and closed her eyelids.

"Akira! Akira! Akira! Akira! Akira! AKIRA!," shouted the in-training digimon.

However, she did not answer and remained lying. After Wanyamon called her name for a while, he gave it up.

"What am I doing now?!" he screamed angrily and looked around.

Far and wide only sand, again sand, power mare and cacti. How can he find help here? Once again, the in-training digimon looked to Akira. Then it began to hop out of the shadows and look for help. He didn't know how long he was looking. He didn't know if he was looking at all. Why should he take care of a human being? He just wanted to get stronger. Stronger so that one day he could defeat it. Stronger so that he didn't lose. Stronger so that he could fulfil his duty. Wanyamon stopped briefly and gritted his teeth. He was hungry. He had to find someone... Or? He didn't have to. The in-training digimon didn't think much of his partner. Should she die from lack of water... But again his conscience gnawed at him. The ground shook gently. First weak, then stronger and stronger. A few seconds later, Wanyamon saw a Digimon in the distance, which came at him at high speed. A man sat on the back of the Digimon. He held up with his hands. The man said something as the Digimon slowed down his pace and came to a halt sometime before the training digimon.

Only now did Wanyamon realize that the Digimon had four feet, each with three grey claws. His entire body was black. But while the legs had fur, the body was wrapped in armor. The Digimon had grey protectors on the rear legs, while protectors sat on the front flanks. At the side of the body sat a row of yellow teeth, which ranged from the front legs to the rear flanks. Above the front legs there was a black metal part on each side, which was shaped like a lightning bolt. Along with another piece of metal sitting in the middle, the Digimon could produce thunder. On the chest were the coat of arms of friendship and two small black teeth looking forward. The neck of the Digimon was covered with fur. The upper half of the neck was blue, the lower half white. A head partially tucked into his head in a black armor stretched towards the strange Digimon. The red eyes, which showed from the triangular scooping out of the armor, shone with curiosity, while the blue ears were facing forward. One could see the mouth of Digimon very well. In some cases, even the sharp teeth showed out. Two yellow stripes began briefly over the scooping out to the end of the helmet. A silver-yellow horn, shaped like a lightning bolt, stretched out to the height of the desert sky. Behind the horn was a yellow symbol, which could not be described as a square or a triangle. A blue, long tail balanced the Digimon. In general, it looked like a cross between a dog and a dinosaur.

The man, who had just descended from the back of the Digimon, had reddish-brown, rough hair and was wearing aviator glasses. The skin color of the young man was darker than that of Akira, who had a very light skin color. He wore a light shirt, a blue jacket with red flames and a grey fluffy-looking collar. His hands were in yellow gloves. The young man was wearing knee-length brown-green trousers, while his feet were tucked into orange boots. The lace and heel of the boots were a white color. You could see that the young man was wearing blue socks, as one could see the approach of this.

"Who are you?" asked the dog-like Digimon.

"Give me your name before I give you mine," Wanyamon replied defiantly.

"I'm Raidramon!" he introduce himself.

"And I am," the man began.

"Whatever. My name is Wanyamon," the training digimon said.

"Hey! Don't interrupt me!" the young man shouted.

"Could you help me?" Wanyamon skipped the foreign man's statement.

"What's it all about?" was Raidramon's question.

"My partner fainted due to lack of water..."

"Good! Then we will help you!" the man replied, sitting on his partner's back again.

The training digimon said:

"In this direction."

He pointed to a certain direction before jumping on Raidramon's head.

"Hey!" he said.

"Let's go, Raidramon!" the man shouted: "We'll help his partner!"

Raidramon then sprinted without losing another word. His run was very unpleasant for Wanyamon, because if he let himself be carried, he either did it on a person's head, which was only the case with Akira until now, or he settled on the back of a digimon that flew. Both types of travel were very pleasant... But being on the back of a hopping something and not losing the balance was something completely different.

"There!" said the young man: "I see somebody!"

"I see it too," Raidramon said, slowing his pace.

Even before the dog-like Digimon came to a halt, the man jumped from his back and went to Akira.

After a short time, however, the young man said with an eyebrow raised:

"Are you sure she fainted, Wanyamon?"

"Do you doubt my judgment, man?!" he asked angrily.

"Yes," the man replied, "She's just asleep."

The anger of the in-training digimon was heightened. Not only from the bumpy ride, as he felt it, but also that a human was right. Boiling in anger, he bit Akira in the hand, so that she jumped out screaming in pain.

"Man, Wanyamon!"" she grumbled.

"Why didn't you say you're just tired, Akira?!" he yelled at her.

"Because..." she began, but she knew no excuse: "Because I was awake almost all night!"

"Do you have people in such a stupid condition, or do I just imagine it?!"

"We've been wandering through the whole night! You don't need to be surprised if I fall asleep at some point!"

"Hey, hey... Now calm down again you two", the young man tried to calm down the two of them: "What did you want in the desert?"

"Food search... Or rather. Wanyamon thought there was a forest here," Akira said.

"Should we help you?" the man asked.

"We found an oasis just over two hours ago," Raidramon said.

"I don't accept help from strangers," Akira said.

"Oh... Ok! I am Davis Motomiya!" the young man introduced himself, before pointing at his partner: "And this is Raidramon."

"Akira Tanaka," she replied with an unreadable expression.

Davis, however, did not pay any attention to her mood, but grinned all over his face. The red-brown-haired man sat down again on Raidramon and handed her his hand so she could pull herself up. Akira looked at his hand for a while before Davis became impatient and he let his hand rise a few inches. Eventually, she grabbed the young man's hand as Wanyamon jumped on Raidramon's head. Then Raidramon sprinted to the oasis. When the group of four reached the oasis after two hours, Akira jumped from the back of the dog-like Digimon and rushed to the water. Immediately, she began to form a bowl with her hands to collect the water before drinking it. Raidramon observed Wanyamon a little bit. Somehow he knew this Digimon. Somehow, the in-training digimon seemed familiar to him. He felt a familiar feeling at the sight of Agumon and Gabumon. Where did that feeling come from? But the more the dog-like Digimon thought about it, the more comical the thought became. Frustrated, Raidramon returned to his child-level Veemon.

He walked upright like Davis and had a small, grey horn on his nose. On the forehead of Veemon a yellow V was marked and he had small blue ears. Two powerfully built legs held him upright. Each foot had three toes. The two arms, each with five claws, hung loosely on the body. Veemon's body was covered from head to tail with blue scales. Only the belly had white scales.

Akira looked at the blue dragon before looking at Davis. He smiled cheerfully at her and began cutting a melon himself with a small knife, which he always carried in his pocket. He gave her one piece, another to his partner and Wanyamon. They ate the melon silently until Davis began to ask Akira with a half-full mouth:

"Say... Where do you come from?"

"Shibuya..." she replied: "Tokyo..."

"I live in Odaiba. My three friends..."

"Who cares," she interrupted him abruptly and continued to eat her melon piece.

Akira could be said to not particularly like Davis. But she forced herself to get along with him, because she wanted to know from him how he got into the digital world. She found Davis very childish, naive and big-mouthed. Exactly the characteristics that annoyed her the most.

"Hey..." Davis said, "What happened to you?"

"Do you want to know the truth? You embody the character traits that I hate the most," she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"What did you say?!" he approached her and grabbed her by the collar.

"Do you have such bad ears? I said you embody the character traits I hate the most."

Akira noticed his angry gaze. But she didn't think about apologizing. Instead, she added one more.

"You're an idiot, Davis. You're probably even proud of it," she said with a smile.

"Why are you a DigiDestined in the first place?"

"A what?"

"Someone who has a digimon partner."

"Don't ask me. Ask the one who chose me."

"And who is that?"

"No idea. I'm just going to call him a guardian," Akira said, before Davis let her go.

She hit the ground. Her partner had watched the whole scene, but he himself did not intervene. He just didn't want to. Unlike Veemon, who jumped up and joined his partner.

"Apologize, Akira!" the blue dragon said angrily.

"And what if I do not?" she asked.

"Then I'll give you a Vee-Headbutt."

"Do it," she challenged him and stood up.

"What went wrong in your life?!" was Davis's question.

"Why should I tell you that?" she said.

"Just tell it!" he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

She was silent, because she didn't want to tell him anything. But he was the first person ever to listen to what was with her. Akira sighed and sat down in the tailor's seat. The red-brown-haired woman did the same to her.

"My parents died in a car accident when I was a year old," she explained: "When my sister told me about it, I became so angry with her that I locked myself from her and others. I didn't want to, but it kind of happened."

"How old..." he quipped something: "How old were you when you found out?"

"Seven," she replied succinctly.

Davis remained silent and looked at her with pitying eyes.

"What are you looking at?!" she immediately insulted him.

"A friend of mine is something like this happening. He lost his older brother at a young age."

"And? At least his parents are still alive..."

"That's it, but..."

"You see. The death of a sibling is easier than the death of parents. Sera had constantly told me that my parents had rejected us."

"The more innocent you are..." Wanyamon suddenly said, "It's easier to break..."

All eyes were on him.

"That's what a friend of mine once said," he added.

"And who exactly said that?" asked Veemon curiously.

'I don't know... Somehow, my complete memories are blurred to a certain point", the in-training digimon hopped close to his partner and made himself comfortable there.

"And why?" was Davis's question.

"I don't know," Wanyamon replied defiantly.

Everyone then remained silent. Until the next morning, no one changed a word. During the night, Veemon woke up the in-training digimon.

"What do you want?" Wanyamon growled softly and blinked several times to get the tiredness out of his eyes.

"I want to ask you something," the blue dragon began.

"And what?"

"Have we met before?"

"No. And now leave me alone."

The in-training digimon just wanted to fall asleep again when Veemon explained:

"Every time I see you I got a familiar feeling..."

"You just imagined it," Wanyamon raved, closing his eyes.

Within a few seconds, he had fallen asleep again.

/Do I just imagine it?/, the blue dragon wondered himself.

/Yes./ he nodded briefly: "I'm just imagining it."

Without wasting another thought, Veemon lay down to sleep again.

The next morning, the group was awakened by the loud conversation of two Gazimon's. Tired, Davis rubbed his eyes while Akira listened to the conversation between the two.

"Hey, hey! I'm looking forward to his concert!" one Gazimon exclaimed gleefully.

"Definitely! The Ape of Rock has such a great voice!" enthused the other Gazimon.

The blue dragon jumped up and joined the two Digimon.

"The Ape of Rock?" he asked.

"Yes. Have you never heard of him?" was Gazimon's question.

Veemon shook his head.

"The Ape of Rock is the best singer on the server continent," explained the other Gazimon: "His concerts are so good."

"Do you want to come along?" the first Gazimon asked: "His concerts are always free."

Davis joined the three Digimons and said:

"Doesn't sound bad. Where exactly is the concert?"

"Just follow us. We lead you," the Gazimon suggested.

"I don't like it, Akira," Wanyamon raved a few feet from the four.

"I don't either... But Davis wants to go there... And he certainly knows how to get back into my world..." she sighed annoyed.

She didn't want to go to a concert of any Ape of Rock. She wanted to return to her world as soon as possible. But if she parted ways with Davis, who is guaranteed to have a way to return to the human world, the only possible way disappeared. When the young man and his partner wanted to go with the two Gazimon, Akira and Wanyamon silently followed them. After about an hour, the group stopped in the middle of the desert. Several Digimons had gathered. A few Koromon's, Gekomon's, Gazimon's, Kuwagamon's, Tyrannomon's and Otamamon's had already gathered at the place. There was an excited atmosphere among the Digimons. Everyone was talking about the Ape of Rock. Suddenly, a monochrome one pulling a car behind it galloped past the crowd and came to a halt a few meters away. The car itself was rounded. Wild rock music began to play.

"Is my audience gathered?!" a voice asked aloud.

"Yes!" shouted the digimon's.

"Then it's off!" the voice shouted, before the fog cleared: "I'm Etemon! And this is for my fans!"

A monkey wearing an orange costume stood on the stage, which went out during the fog. In his hand, which consisted of five fingers, the monkey held a microphone and sang cheerfully in it. The present Digimons and Davis cheered the Ape of Rock. In the background, Gazimon's played a guitar and drums.

"The guy really doesn't have any talent," Wanyamon quipped.

The music then fell silent abruptly before Etemon began to sing louder than ever.

"Did he just ignore me?!" the in-training digimon asked angrily.

"Don't worry. You're not the only one who doesn't like his music," Akira said, holding his ears.

Another Digimon joined in and listened to some of the music before energy gathered in his eye and turned it to a Kuwagamon. He screamed out loud in pain before it broke into data particles. But instead of flying into the air, the particles were absorbed by the strange digimon. The unknown Digimon fired another laser at a Gekomon. As with the Kuwagamon, it was killed and its data particles absorbed. The other Digimons ran away in panic.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Etemon angrily exclaimed: "Nobody disturbs my concert so easily!"

Wanyamon growled furiously before shouting:

"Wanyamon... Warp digivolve to...", a light enveloped him: "Dynasmon!"

"Wow," Davis marvelled when he saw the great figure of the mega-digimon.

"Davis!" exclaimed Veemon.

"Oh yes, right. Digimental up!"

"Veemon armor-digivolved to... Flamedramon!"

Dynasmon and Flamedramon prepared to fight in front of the unknown Digimon. Etemon, boiling with rage as the unknown Digimon disrupted his concert, turned to the other two Digimons. A green sphere of energy formed in his hand. Akira's partner digimon also gathered energy in one of his palms, while Flamedramon wrapped one hand in fire.

"Dark network!" exclaimed Etemon, throwing the energy ball.

"Dragon's Roar!" Dynasmon summoned a red laser.

"Fire Rocket!" the fire dragon threw several fireballs at the unknown Digimon.

The three attacks hit it and so it was shrouded in an explosion. When it faded, the Digimon lay on the ground and did not move.

"Is it unconscious?" asked Flamedramon, approaching him before hitting it with his foot.

Akira approached the unknown Digimon and examined it.

"It looks like a machine", she said.

Etemon also went to the Digimon and took a closer look.

"It's a machine," he said.

"Are you sure, no-talent?" was Dynasmon's question.

"I probably recognize a machine, big one," the monkey growled back.

"But... If it's a machine... Who created it?" she asked.

"No idea," Davis replied, "But this thing is dead now and no longer working. Danger banished!"

The young man put his hands in his hips and smiled broadly. Meanwhile, Dynasmon and Flamedramon wrapped themselves in a light before returning to Wanyamon and Veemon.

"Davis..." the blue dragon sounded a little pleading: "I don't think the danger is over..."

"What do you mean by that? It doesn't work anymore," Davis said.

"The creator of this machine is alive," Akira said with an unreadable expression.

"How is this possible..." Wanyamon quid: "This Digimon has absorbed the data from the Kuwagamon and Gekomon..."

"What do you mean?" was Etemon's question.

"No normal digimon in the world can absorb data," the in-training digimon explained.

"Then it's not a digimon?" Davis tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Are you just so stupid or are you like that?" Wanyamon looked at the young man with annoyance.

"Hey! I have a four in English!" said Davis.

"Then you are stupid," she concluded, "But I'm just as bad at school as he is."

"Anyway," Etemon suddenly exclaimed, "Do you need a travel opportunity? You just saved my life! You also get a private concert!"

"Definitely!" the young man and Veemon unison said.

"Definitely not!" said Akira and the training digimon.

* * *

The scientist's steps were slow. His dark brown shoes echoed on the marble floor as he continued step by step. On the sign that hung on his white coat was the name Doc. Kato Azuma. Underneath the coat, he wore a yellow T-shirt, while his legs were covered by black trousers. He used to be very fat, but now Doc. Azuma had a slender figure. He liked to push his glasses back to the nose with his left index finger. Doc. Azuma was driving through his dark blond, smooth hair. With his hands, he finally opened a thick door and stepped in. In the room were several scientists who sat in front of computers or walked through the room.

The room itself was quite large. Several tables stood on the sides, which were only so crammed with documents and computers. In the middle of the room was a container with a strange liquid. It was not water, rather a kind of acid mixture of different elements. Another container with the same liquid stood at the edge of the room. There was an Otamamon trapped there. Presumably it entered the real world when Meicrackmon Vicious Mode had opened several portals. Perhaps this Otamamon belonged to the Gekomon Castle and once served ShogunGekomon. Doc Azuma looked briefly at the trapped Digimon before his gaze fell on a passing scientist.

"How is the research going?" he asked.

"Very good, sir," replied the respondent in a strong Chubu dialect: "A Gizmon could kill a Kuwagamon and a Gekomon and absorb their data. However, it was destroyed by three digimon's."

"Doesn't matter... We have stored the data. Therefore, the loss is not too great, although I would like to know which digimon's destroyed it...", he closed his eyes briefly and pulled up his glasses with his finger on his nose, before opening his eyes again and continued coolly: "We materialize another one."

"Very well! To everyone! Materialization!" the scientist exclaimed.

Immediately, the others began their work and shouted several things. Something began to form in the large container. A few seconds later, a robot had materialized. His body was round and purple, while the eye, which bore similarities to a camera lens, blinked several times.

Doc Azuma smiled and ordered his staff:

"Leave the Otamamon free."

"Understood!" one scientist replied, pressing a specific button on her keyboard.

The liquid in the Digimon's container was pumped out before Otamamon opened his eyes and looked through the room confused.

"Where am I, geko?" he asked, "That's not my home, geko!"

His voice sounded subdued because the Digimon was still in the container.

"Don't worry, Otamamon... You will be able to go home right away..." said Kato: "Prepare the dimensional transport!"

"Understood!" said one scientist.

Immediately the comic robot and the Otamamon were brought into the Digiwelt.

"Activate camera," Doc Azuma ordered.

A picture appeared on Kato's screen as the scientist pulled something out of his drawer. It looked similar to a normal D-3 Digivice, but it looked far more unwieldy. Instead of rounded edges, the device had four corners and a cable that ran from the antenna over the back to the bottom of the Digivice. Nevertheless, it had the buttons of a D-3 Digivice. Kato lifted the Digivice into the air and pressed a certain keyboard shortcut. Meanwhile, the robot's lens began to light up in the digital world. The Otamamon seemed a little frightened, but it didn't know what the robot was doing before him.

"PT Laser," Doc Azuma said in the real world.

The robot briefly gathered energy in his eye before release a powerful beam of energy on the Otamamon. When the beam hit him, he screamed loudly in pain and then broke into data particles. These, however, did not fly into the air but were absorbed by the robot. In the real world, all the scientists applauded.

"Finally!" shouted one of them: "A weapon that can stop Digimon."

"This should make us safe from invasion in the future," said another.

Kato smiled before seeing another Digimon on the screen.

"Who is that?" he wondered aloud.

Everyone in the room fell silent and looked at Doc Azuma. He stared anxiously at the screen. The strange digimon opened and quickly closed his hand several times. Then his right arm began to glow white-greenish before the light gave way from his arm and formed a blade. The digimon lifted the weapon into the air and dropped it on the robot. A few seconds later, a grey screen formed in front of Kato's eyes. Doc Azuma slammed his fist on the table in anger.

But then he calmed down again and said coolly:

"We will kill this Digimon that wiped out our Gizmon."


	3. Chapter 3 - The upside-down pyrimade

**Author'snote: Maybe I should warn you. In this fanfiction Meiko Mochizuki will play a great part. If you are a total Meiko hater and can't get over with and hate the shipping Tai/Meiko, don't continue this fanfiction. You have been warned.**

* * *

Chapter 3 – The upside-down pyramid

"Why did you refuse?" groaned Davis as he could barely bear the heat of the desert sun.

"He got on my nerves," Akira replied.

After she had scared away Etemon, the four continued walking alone through the desert.

"Can't you even pull yourself together, Akira?" asked Wanyamon annoyed.

As always, he sat on her head and enjoyed the view that was offered to him. Next to her went also Veemon. He himself no longer wanted to sprint through the desert as a Raidramon and carry several people on his back.

"You didn't like Etemon, have you forgotten?" she said.

"Shut up!" he raved.

Veemon dropped back a bit to talk to Davis.

"They don't really like each other," the red-brown-haired man began.

"Really?" the blue dragon smiled: "Because I think they understand each other better than you think."

"Hm..." he stopped, closed his eyes and folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I don't know why, but the two fit very well together."

"Say Veemon..."

"Yes?"

"Could it be that you..." he interrupted himself: "Forget it."

"Hey!" shouted Veemon, leaving Akira standing.

"What do you need so long?" she asked aloud, looking at the two.

"Hey! You're the one who scared away Etemon!," Davis screamed, walking toward her as Wanyamon hopped off her head and walked to Veemon.

"What can I do for him being so annoying," she said.

"Very much. Because you've scarred away our driving possibility!"

"Shut up. This monkey had no talent!"

"He has talent!"

"He didn't!"

"He did!"

The in-training digimon looked at the blue dragon. He shrugged his shoulders before sighing.

"Why are they arguing again?" he asked annoyed.

"Someone I knew once said what loves teasing himself," Wanyamon said.

''I don't think they love each other.''

"Believe me. The one who said that always scared me..."

"Okay... I don't want to meet that one."

"She's already dead... Although... She would have to be reborn... After all, it's been a good 10,000 years."

"10,000 years?!" Veemon said aloud, so Akira and Davis interrupted their argument.

"What's going on?" was the red-brown-haired man's question.

"Someone who knows Wanyamon has been dead for 10,000 years," said the blue dragon.

"10,000 years is a pretty long time," she said.

"Yes," Davis nodded to the confirmation.

"Yeah. I slept for 10,000 years," the training digimon said.

"Yeah" the blue dragon also nodded his head.

"What?!" everyone screamed at once.

"King Drasil! My ears!," Wanyamon exclaimed.

"King Drasil?!" said the red-brown-haired man, grabbing the training digimon and shaking it through: "Say. Who is this King Drasil guy?!"

"What do I know... My memories are very blurred."

"King Drasil is the god of the digital world..." said Veemon suddenly.

Davis let go of Wanyamon and looked at his partner with his eyes wide open.

"A good three-quarter of a year ago, you didn't know, Veemon..." he said, "Why do you know now?"

"I don't know, Davis... It just occurred to me..." he apologized and looked at a cactus.

There was a crushing silence. At some point, Akira groaned annoyed.

"Will it be soon? I want to go home," she said.

The red-brown-haired man looked at her in silence.

"What?" she replied.

"Honestly, there is no way to our world right now... The TV was destroyed..."

"What?!" she approached him angrily and looked at him: "How did you come here then?!"

"Through a PC of my school and my D3-digivice," he explained, "And with the TV we'll come back."

"D3-digivice?" she asked.

Davis immediately brought out his Digivice. It looked completely different from Akira's. She put her hand in the skirt pocket, pulled out her bright purple Digivice and showed it to the young man. He looked at the object with disbelieving eyes. He had never seen such a Digivice before. It looked like the Digivice of the older DigiDestined, but it had a different colour than the typical light blue.

"Why does your Digivice have a different colour?" was his question.

"What are you talking about?" she replied annoyed.

"Normally your type of Digivice has a light blue colour... But yours is completely different..."

Veemon approached and took a closer look at her Digivice.

"It's just a different colour... But otherwise it's the same," he said.

"Hm... And why does your digivice look like this?" she asked.

"Why? My Digivice is a different model," Davis explained, "Izzy calls it the D3-Digivice."

"And what does D3 mean?"

"I didn't pay attention," he grinned.

"Don't be proud of it!" she exclaimed.

"Hello?!" Wanyamon suddenly said, "Do we want to move on now?! Or snake root here?!"

"He's right..." the blue dinosaur replied in small: "We should go on... There is no point in just standing around here and doing nothing but arguing."

With this, the group set itself in motion again. Every step seemed like an eternity, because there was nothing else to see except sand, cacti and power fats. The sun burned mercilessly on the heads of the four, and each movement almost triggered a waterfall of sweat. After a while, the group of four passed a cave. Akira walked in and followed the aisle. The other three followed her tacitly. They didn't know the way, but were glad that they no longer had to sweat under the sun. Just over half an hour later, they saw a light and immediately the exit. When they stepped back into the open, a pyramid was revealed to them. The strange thing about it, however, was that it stood with the tip down.

"It really doesn't make sense now," Akira grumbled.

"What doesn't make sense?" asked Davis, looking at the pyramid.

"The pyramid should actually overturn."

"Why?"

"Never can a pyramid stand upside down without it tip over."

"And? We are not here in our world," he shrugged.

"There are other pysically laws in the Digi world," Veemon said.

"Pysically? Don't you think physically?" said Wanyamon.

"Exactly!" smiled the blue dinosaur.

"We're definitely going in there!" the red-brown-haired man decided.

"Don't you think the pyramid seems a bit weird, Davis?" was her question.

"What do you mean by that? Veemon said that there are other pysically laws here!"

"Physically, you idiot!" the training digimon corrected him.

The pyramid was equipped with many corridors. In total, there were two entrances, the front entrance used by the group of four, and a hidden entrance. Although the pyramid was in the desert, the water dripped down in some corners. The two people and their partner did not know why. A few Digimons, however, lunged around here. Especially Bakemon were native to this pyramid next to the chapel, which stood on the File Island. But also a few Drimogemon and Tyrannomon had made themselves comfortable in the pyramid. In general, only the Bakemon and Tyrannomon attacked invaders. Drimogemon were very peace-loving Digimons and attacked anyone only in exceptional cases. As the group of four moved on, they soon discovered a Tyrannomon and another red-scathing digimon.

He ran on two powerfully built legs, each equipped with two claws. The heels were also occupied with a claw, which actually served no real purpose. On the feet and on the arms there was a symbol of three triangles. One was larger than the other two, centrally placed and pointed with the tip to the claws. The other two triangles were on the long side, but not on the long side that pointed upwards. Around the thighs and wrists was a black ring, while the long arms of the Digimon began on shoulders with a triangle whose tip also pointed downwards. The three silver-and-white claws on their hands struck just after the Tyrannomon. After he stumbled back, the digimon saw his opponent with his yellow, watchful eyes. On the muzzle there was almost the same symbol as on the feet and hands, but the tip of the triangle pointed towards the forehead and three other small triangles sat on the long side. The ears, shaped like wings, shrugged briefly as the Digimon heard the four newcomers. Nevertheless, he preferred to return to the fight before him. The belly itself was covered with white scales. On these there was again a black symbol. A large triangle, the tips of which were occupied by three small triangles, was circled at the corners by a thin circle. There was also a black ring in the neck, back and long tail that balanced the digimon.

"Rock Breaker!" the red dinosaur shouted, attacking the enemy again with his claws.

The voice sounded calm and deep. The Tyrannomon hurled his opponent's tail against the wall. Veemon, hot-blooded and careless as he was, attacked Tyrannomon on the stomach with his head. A kick followed and a blow, which loudly beat the opponent into the escape.

"Thank you," the red dinosaur replied after rising.

"You're welcome," Veemon smiled.

"Who are you?" Davis asked the stranger Digimon curiously: "I've never seen a digimon like you..."

"Maybe you should introduce yourself first. It's rude to ask for someone's name without first introducing yourself..." said the stranger Digimon.

"Akira Tanaka," she imagined.

"Wanyamon," her partner said.

"I am Davis Motomiya," the young man continued.

"And my name is Veemon," grinned the blue dinosaur.

"May I introduce myself." the red dinosaur placed his right hand on his left shoulder and tilted his head a little: "My name is Guilmon."

"You're pretty formal," Akira said.

"That's always been how I've been," Guilmon replied, leaving his pose.

"Why are you going around here?" asked Veemon.

"Hm?" the red dinosaur tilted his head slightly to the side and paused briefly before raising his voice again: "I've heard there's something here that could help me."

"And what exactly is to help you?" was Wanyamon's question.

"A special machine," Guilmon said.

"Here? In the pyramid?" said Davis, astonished.

The red dinosaur nodded briefly before continuing to speak:

"If you would follow me."

In doing so, he led the group of four on the one hand large room. Light-beamed tiles were placed on the floor and on the walls, while several machines stood on the walls. In the middle of the room was a circle of runes. Akira went to one of the machines and looked at it more closely. Meanwhile, the red-brown-haired man asked the stranger Digimon:

"Why do you need this here?"

"I want to find my friends," Guilmon replied.

"Your friends?" Veemon repeated.

"Yes. There should be records here... That's why I came here," the red dinosaur explained.

While Veemon, Davis and Guilmon continued to chat, Akira was fascinated by the machine. She typed several buttons and pressed there. Rejoiced like a little kid as it moved on.

"The problem is that I don't know how to boot the machine and then call the particular file," the red dinosaur's voice echoed through the room: "At the time, this file password is protected. I can know the password, but I don't really know the machine."

"Hey, what are you doing, Akira?" asked Wanyamon.

"I try to run this machine," she said, typing on.

The machine made a strange noise before a screen appeared with different dates.

"Hm..." she bit her lower lip slightly and thought, "Ah!"

Again she typed something in and a folder opened. Several files were there and arbitrarily opened a file. Or she wanted to open it, because the selected file was password protected. Guilmon ran towards her and pushed her away with her body.

"Hey!" she complained loudly.

"That's the file!" the red dinosaur shouted.

He quickly typed in the password so that the file was opened. Several signs of the Digi alphabet appeared and Guilmon flew over the lines.

"Very good," he said, "That's the file I was looking for."

"What's there?" was Davis's question.

"Basically, this explains what happened over 10,000 years ago," the red dinosaur explained.

"Really?", Wanyamon hopped to the stranger Digimon and looked at him curiously: "Can you really read it?"

"But for sure," he laughed.

"Then read," asked the training digimon.

"Um..."

"Then you can't read it," you could hear his anger in his voice.

"Good. I'll read it..."

"Before you start, Guilmon," Akira interrupted him: "Why are you so obsessed with knowing what's in the file, Wanyamon?"

"The file is over 10,000 years old, human," he said inadvertently.

But that was enough for her to grab him by the tail and awe him furiously:

"So are we back with human, digimon?"

"That was unintentional, Akira," Wanyamon grumbled.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow with scepticism and replied ironically, "So that was unintentional?"

"Yes. And now let me go, Akira."

Immediately, she let go of his tail, causing him to bang to the ground.

"You could have just dropped me off!" complained the in-training digimon.

"I took it literally," she defiantly folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Sorry," Guilmon said, "Do you want to know what's in the file now?"

"Absolutely!" cried Veemon.

"Good," the red dinosaur closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Then, when he opened his eyelids again, he began to read aloud:

"A long time ago, there was a Digimon that came from another world. This had a sword that stretched for metres to the sky. Together with two other Digimons, which were created by the one who wanted stability and the one who wanted harmony, he founded... The other text is illegible.", he scrolled the text further down until he came across something readership again: "So Bancho... mon, O... mon and ... inomon of the ... defeated, after which they ... The other text is illegible again..."

"Hm..." Davis closed his eyes and pondered, "What does this mean?"

"No idea. But the three Digimons mentioned in the first lines... Who are they?" asked Veemon.

"No idea," Wanyamon replied defiantly.

"Hm... The one who wanted stability... The one who wanted harmony... Are they gods?" said Akira.

"The one who wants stability is King Drasil," Guilmon explained: "The one who wants harmony is the Homeostasis. Both are in contention for the dominance of the digital world. Or rather. They were in a contention. I no longer feel Yggdrasil's presence in the digital world."

"You can sense the presence of King Drasil?" asked Wanyamon.

"Yes. I once served him faithfully..."

"Hm..." the in-training digimon hopped towards the red dinosaur and looked at him more closely.

Guilmon bent down and sniffed Wanyamon. His smell seemed very familiar to him.

"Weird..." the red dinosaur said: "Your smell... It seems very familiar to me..."

"Do you think so? I don't know you..." so the in-training digimon jumped on Akira's head.

"Are you sure? My nose doesn't deceive me."

"I. Don't. Know. You."

"Good... Then let's leave it that way. I don't want to start a fight."

Suddenly, Guilmon began to growl. Steps were to be heard. Slow, serious. As the steps got closer and closer, the red dinosaur's growling grew louder. Davis took his D3-Digivice in his left hand, ready to give Veemon the energy he needed to digitise to his champion level. Akira, meanwhile, looked at Guilmon with his eyes narrowed. Meanwhile, Wanyamon had jumped off her head and also growled.

"No matter what comes next," Veemon raved, but he didn't want to talk further.

A dark figure emerged from a hallway. His face showed a sinister smile.

"Gennai?!" Davis said.

"Who is Gennai?" asked Akira.

"The person in front of us," the blue dinosaur explained, "But why does he look like that?"

"I don't think he'll tell us the answer," Guilmon growled.

"Exactly!" cried Gennai.

His dark robe basically reflected his sadistic character.

"Gennai! What happened to you?" was Davis's question.

"Davis," Wanyamon said, annoyed, "He's not going to give you an answer!"

"Do you want to play something?" asked Gennai, snapping his fingers.

Next to him appeared a portal from which a Digimon emerged, which looked very human and had a clown mask. This one was black on the right side, on the other white with a red heart. His eyes had a light yellow hue, but the iris had a blood-red hue. Yellow hair protruded from the back of the head, which at the end took on an orange tone. The Digimon's neck was covered by a white collar, while his torso was in a red jacket. At his waist he wore a yellow heart, on his shoulders there was a grey symbol that looked like a leaf. White gloves covered his hands and yellow knee-length boots covered his feet. The trousers were green, but also had several small, yellow hearts on the sides, which had a heart-shaped hole in the middle. On the back of the Digimon were two crossed swords. The handles of those wrapped in gold were clearly visible and the blades were covered in blue sheaths. DoruGremon shuddered, but not because of the shape of the Digimon. The figure looked ridiculous and not scary. It was his eyes and the red mouth.

"This is Piedmon... One of the Dark Master's," the dark Gennai introduced the Digimon.

"Who?" asked Wanyamon and Akira unison.

"Do you know nothing of the Dark Master's?"

"No. I only became a DigiDestined a few days ago," she explained.

"I slept for 10,000 years and woke up just over a week ago!" shouted the training digimon.

"Do you want to give him more information, you two?" was Guilmon's question.

"What do you mean?" asked Wanyamon.

"You.", the dark Gennai pointed to the training digimon: "Are you one of them, aren't you?"

Wanyamon growled furiously.

"However. I wish you a lot of fun with Piedmon.", Gennai smiled viciously: "I say bye-bye!"

With this, he threw a black cube, which he held in his hand, on the floor, so that a portal appeared, and disappeared into it. Meanwhile, Piedmon approached.

"Is he an ultimate-level-digimon?" was Wanyamon's question.

"Yes," Guilmon replied, "But he's just a copy here."

"What do you mean?" asked Davis.

"The true Piedmon would never, ever, act without his subordinates. That's why it's a copy," the red dinosaur explained.

"Maybe we should flee?!" Akira cried in panic.

"Good idea," Veemon agreed.

They ran into a hallway. After a while they arrived at a crossroads.

"Right!" Guilmon commanded, and continued to rush.

The other four followed him.

"Damn!" Wanyamon growled.

"What's going on?" was his partner's question.

"I can't digitize to the ultimate-level here!"

"I don't either!" the red dinosaur replied.

"Why?" the young man asked.

"They're getting too big," Veemon replied.

A crossroad came again.

"Left!" said Guilmon.

But this passage ended in a dead end, which brought the group of five to a halt.

"Wrong way, you idiot!" complained the training digimon.

"This wasn't a dead end!" said Guilmon, his eyes already seeing the clown.

"How do you get there?" said Davis.

"I'm absolutely sure it wasn't a dead end here," he said, "Fireball!"

The red dinosaur fired a hot fireball at Piedmon from his mouth. However, he cut the ball with a sword and then threw the weapon at Guilmon. He dodged to the side, but inevitably slammed against the wall.

"The aisle is too small," he moaned.

"Damn..." Wanyamon growled.

"Any idea how to get out of here alive?!" Akira exclaimed angrily.

"No," replied the red-brown-haired man: "Was nice to have known you, Veemon..."

"And what about us?" she asked.

"You just forgot us!" said the training digimon.

Piedmon drew five swords. He held two in one hand, three in the other as he crossed his arms. Ready to kill everyone in one fell swoop.

"No... That can't be the end," Davis said, closing his eyes as he slammed his left fist into the ground.

"Davis..." Veemon replied: /Why? Why am I just so weak? I can't protect him.../

"Bye, Wanyamon," she hugged her partner and pressed him on.

"I would say something else now, but..." he broke off.

"Ultimately... We will die now," Guilmon said: /I can't build enough energy to save them all./

Piedmon threw the swords at the group of five. Akira also closed her eyes.

/Davis... I can't do anything... But I want to do something!/, thought the blue dinosaur.

Time seemed to stand still. Everything slowed down as if the clown was controlling time himself, so that his target became more frightened before her death.

"I don't want to die..." Akira quid and began to fight with her tears as she pressed her partner more than ever: "Sera..."

/No... I believe that we can live.../, Davis thought: /I still believe in a miracle... I believe in a miracle!/

Veemon thought almost the same thing. Suddenly, a golden light began to shine from the young man's pocket. This grew and continued to grow and repelled the five swords. The light bundled into an energy beam that pierced Piedmon. This dissolved into data particles and disappeared.

"What... What happened?" asked Davis, stagnantly.

"No idea... But..." Veemon broke off.

"Unbelievable... So that's the connection between people and digimon that it mentioned," Guilmon muttered.

"Did you say anything, Guilmon?" was Wanyamon's question.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Well. This clown is gone now. Pulverized," Akira said, sighing.

The sun was already tilting towards the horizon as the group of five emerged from the pyramid. They would never have believed that they had survived the attack by the dark Gennai and Piedmon. Holding his hand in front of his eyes, Davis looked into the distance and pondered. What light was there when he thought a miracle would save her? No matter what it was. The young man believed, no, he knew that this light would one day help them again. For he knew this light. It was the light that once shined in the fortress of the digimon emperor. The light would soon cause another miracle. He was sure of that.

" I thought I was going to die again..." Guilmon moaned, exhaling through his nostrils.

"We survived!" Wanyamon exclaimed cheerfully, hopping up and down.

"I swear by this that I will change," Akira added.

"And I swear I won't eat that much anymore," Veemon said.

"I swear I'm going to make my dreams come true," Davis said.

"Wait a minute... Again?" asked the in-training digimon.

"A reboot of the digital world just over three quarters of a year ago let me die," the red dinosaur explained.

"That's why! That's why my memories are so blurry!" said Wanyamon: "The reboot did it!"

"Actually, your memories shouldn't have to be blurry."

"Huh?"

"Basically, the reboot erased all of digimon's memories. But through one event, all of them got them back."

"So it's more because you slept for 10,000 years, Wanyamon," Veemon said.

"Shut up!" he said indignantly.

"However. We should continue to look for a way," Akira said.

"Agreed! After all, I can't fulfil my dream in the digital world!" the young man shouted.

"So you want to go into the human world, don't you?" asked Guilmon.

"Exactly," she replied.

"So that's not a problem for me," said the red dinosaur: "There's enough space here."

"What do you mean?" was the question of the blue dinosaur.

"Here I can confidently digitize to the mega-level," Guilmon explained: "Guilmon! Warp digivolve to..."

A light enveloped him before his figure grew by several meters. Then the light went out and a knight's digimon stood in front of the four.

"Gallantmon!" he shouted.

His white-silver Chrome-Digizoid armour shone in the evening light, while his red cape blew majestically behind him. Gallantmon had strong similarities to a knight. So his hands were put into gloves up to his elbows. Behind his five fingers was the same symbol as on the wrists of his Guilmon shape. A similar symbol, consisting of a large triangle with its tip pointing downwards, three smaller triangles that sat at the corners of the large one, and a narrow ring orbiting the large triangle, was on its chest and on its two red knee savers, which were had a golden edge. The waist was covered by two red ribbons, while the head was stuck in a helmet. On this was the head of a Guilmon, which probably indicated that Gallantmon was the ultimate-level of Guilmon. The yellow eyes gently looked at the four, while the mouth was covered by the helmet. Only several slits suggested that the knight was breathing as a result. There was a golden sting on each side of the temples. A braid of silver-blonde hair came out of a small hole at the back of the helmet. Gallantmon himself wore heavy-looking red shoulder panels with a golden edge. His feet tucked him into shoes that were golden at the top and reminiscent of compressed claws. The back of the shoes was red. There was a small heel under this part.

"According to your silence, you are quite impressed with my ultimate-level," Gallantmon said.

"Yes..." Veemon agreed.

The knight briefly closed his eyes as if to show that he was smiling.

"So. Then I'll take you into the real world," Gallantmon said as he reopened his eyelids, stretching out his right arm: "Where exactly do you live?"

"Tokyo," Davis replied.

"More specifically in Shibuya and Odaiba," Akira added.

Within a few seconds, the knight's arm deformed into a long lance. Gallantmon turned 180 degrees and closed his eyes again. Energy began swirling around the top of the weapon before it took off. Then he swung the lance diagonally downwards, effectively tearing up the room in front of him. He created a portal that showed a forest.

"Just get through it," Gallantmon said.

"Thank you, Gallantmon," Davis said with delight.

"Yes. You really helped us!" cried Veemon.

"You're welcome. After all, it is my duty to help the ones in need," the knight laughed kindly.

"Thank you," Akira replied, walking through the portal with Wanyamon on her head.

The young man and his partner did the same. But before that, they both smiled again at Gallantmon. He nodded and waved to them slightly to say goodbye.


	4. Chapter 4 - A new morning

Chapter 4 – A new morning

A digimon rushed through the area. At his sight, one could assume that he had no goal. But he had a goal. His goal was important. With his left, front leg, the digimon got enough energy to jump two meters. He did this continuously. This digimon has been running through the area since dawn. His stamina was remarkable and should not end. The digimon himself breathed very calmly. For a brief moment, however, he closed his eyes before they suddenly opened again and he jumped over an overturned tree. The digimon ran on in a hurry. He didn't pay attention to the area. Why? He didn't care. He didn't care about so much in his long life. However, it was not said that he had no opinion. He already had an opinion, but he rarely expressed it. The digimon was not used to talking about his opinion. He led a life of solitude. In his soul he wished someone with whom he could talk without him seeing him immediately as the digimon for whom everyone knows him. 'Everyone' was perhaps a little exaggerated. Many did not even know he existed. Many did not know what his job was. The digimon was just a pawn in a game of greater powers. He should only do his job. No more, no less. Sometimes the thought that he should be looking for his old friends chased through his head. But that would be too much to ask...

When the sun was over his head, he decided to rest. His perseverance was almost limitless. Slowly he was at the end of his powers and his legs were already hurting from the run. So he slowed down his pace until he walked slowly through the area. His eyes blinked briefly and he looked to the right to see a wide plain. He knew full well that behind the plain there was a castle on a cliff. Gekomon's, Otamamon's and a ShogunGekomon lived in this castle. They regularly held karaoke competitions. However, he was not interested. Why had he thought about it? Just because it had just occurred to him. The digimon briefly shook his head and noticed that he was coming to a halt because of the thought. He took a deep breath and set himself in motion again. His thoughts began to revolve around his goal. Where could he be? He's been looking for him for over three-quarters of a year. Just over an hour later, he reached a meadow with several closed flowers. On the meadow there was a digimon, which happily romped around. It hummed a beautiful-sounding melody. But if you listen to it for a long time, it sounded sad. The playing digimon looked at the newcomer and tilted his head to the side.

"Who are you?" he asked.

His voice was relatively high.

"You don't need to know that," he replied in a much deeper voice.

Although he was a child-level digimon, his voice sounded very deep. You could tell he was very old. Still. Digimon's did not age. Therefore only his wisdom and his experiences became greater.

"Really? So I'm Tapirmon," he said, smiling.

He continued to silence Tapirmon.

"You don't want to tell me your name?" again, he tilted his head slightly to the side and began to look at his counterpart more closely.

This one looked like a dragon digimon running on four feet. He had no wings. Instead, a black pointed horn sat on his snout. The golden eyes had long since lost the joy of life. They showed only loneliness. Deep loneliness. His ears were raised when he heard a crack. Then he calmed down again, for there had only been the Digimon before him. This inadvertently stepped on a small branch, which somehow seemed lost in the meadow. The white scales of the Digimon shimmered in the midday sun, but were mostly covered by a red cape. A hood was attached to the neck of the cape, which he wore just over his ears. On the hood were goggles. A tail with a dark blue lace balanced it out.

"So? Who are you?" asked Tapirmon again.

"I told you that you don't need to know," he replied stubbornly.

His black mouth moved as he spoke. Tapirmon assumed that this digimon could bite very hard with it.

"Come on... Maki always said that you should introduce yourself after someone asks for their name..." he explained.

"Maki?" his eyes widened briefly: "Maki Himekawa?"

"Exactly! Have you seen her? I mean. I feel a little bad because I didn't recognize her when I saw her again."

"So you were the harmony..." he muttered, before speaking louder again: "Maki Himekawa is dead. She drowned in the Dark Ocean."

"What?" said Tapirmon in shock.

Then sadness was reflected in his eyes before he began to.

"Maki..." he breathed: "Maki... Maki..."

"I don't care what will become of you... Live well, harmony," he continued.

He left Tapirmon alone with his grief. He didn't care... He didn't care. He had an opinion, but he did not express it. The Digimon was removed from the meadow. Then he lowered his head to the ground and gritted his teeth.

"What is the reason for my existence?" he asked himself: "When I have done it... Then I have only one reason to exist..."

He looked into the cloudless sky. Quietly, he watched a few bird digimon's, spinning their rounds and shouting at each other. His eyes closed and he lowered his head again. He walked on with slow steps. His job was over if he did it... He knew he couldn't complete the other task. Never. And yet he would carry on. Even if he died. However, his death would also end his loneliness, his suffering. He would be reborn without memories. He would be freed from his loneliness. Sighing, he let himself sink under a tree. His chin rested on the moss. He silently watched the other Digimon in the distance as they talked to each other. As the sun bowed to the horizon, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Although he rarely slept and dreamed even less, this time he had a dream. A dream of long-forgotten memories. The next morning he woke up again. His eyes were a little tearing because of the memories. At the time, he had been happy. He may not have known much, and even less had a clue about life, but much was easier. At the time, he was naive, daredevil, on adventures. Now he was just a shadow of his former self. Seriously, cold. He didn't care. None of this may be. But… There was something that fascinated him a lot. These were digimon's connections to her human partners. As he himself learned, these connections were very strong and could create miracles. Maybe he should look for a human partner... As a result, he would no longer be alone. The digimon shook his head and rose. His dark blue claws dug into the earth and the moss beneath him. What a weak-minded thought that was. Why would he look for a human partner? He was fascinated by the connection, but his fascination was not so strong again. With another shake of the head, he continued his search for him. To him who has fallen into the hands of darkness.

In the evening it finally started to rain. Drop by drop it rained and wet its red cape. His eyes looked serious, his body was tense. Quite unlike the last confrontation with him. He and a man faced each other. The man was wrapped in a black robe. They showed his darkness in his heart and soul. A cold and sadistic smile was reflected on his face.

"You had found me..." said the man.

"Give up, Gennai. There is no point in resisting," he said.

"Really not, Hackmon?" he narrowed his eyes.

However, Gennai was amused by the fact that Hackmon wanted to attack him immediately.

"You know, Hackie..." he shrugged: "There's one thing you don't know..."

"You powered King Drasil up again," Hackmon said coolly.

"That's true... But when you started the search for me, your fate was already decided."

"I still don't understand why you turned against the Homeostasis. This is not due to Meicoomon's virus."

"That's because of the black ball that's in my body."

"What black ball?" his eyes narrowed and he looked suspiciously at him.

"The one that once instilled in me Piedmon. You remember him, don't you?"

"How could I ever forget him..."

"Maybe I should tell you something else, Hackmon," Gennai pulled up his lips and revealed several white teeth to his counterpart.

"What is? No matter what you say... It's useless."

"Your wall that you have built for so long... It is useless... It will break today!"

"What are you talking about, Gennai?" a bad feeling grew in him.

Instead of giving an answer, however, Gennai laughed out loud. His head was thrown in the neck while holding his arms out stretched.

"Do you want to know the truth?" was his question.

"No..." Hackmon gritted his teeth.

He liked the situation less and less.

"You've been looking for Alphamon for a while, right?" Gennai began to grin viciously more than ever.

"What do you want, Gennai?"

His claws dug into the ground as he slowly lowered his head. His ears were now tightly attached to his cape and thus also to his body.

"You think you can convince him to work for the Homeostasis again, don't you?" the man continued.

Hackmon gritted his teeth. Somehow he just wanted to get away from here.

"You know, Hackmon.", Gennai's voice suddenly changed to a deeper and more serious tone: "I am Alphamon."

The eyes of the four-footed dragon widened with horror, while Gennai laughed out loud.

"It's completely impossible," the four-footed dragon quipped.

"Should I become Alphamon to prove to you that I am?" he asked.

Affected, he looked to the ground and gritted his teeth again. Deep in his soul, he always knew the truth. He had only oppressed them.

A light began to form around Hackmon. Within a few seconds, it grew metres high. As the light faded, Hackmon's ultimate-level hovered above the ground. His feet and hands were now deformed into grey swords. Its tail was now much longer than before and had a red blade at the end. All three weapons were decorated with writings. The writing on the tail meant: Forced demarcation. The writing on the left arm was: initialize, that of the right arm: overwrite. The font of the left leg was: transmission, that of the right leg: compression. The silver-and-white body looked very agile and a blue jewel in a golden frame thronged on his chest. Under his hand blades were three golden claws, which he could also move individually. The arms themselves were thickly armoured. Handguards that reached up to the shoulder were used to re-enter the blades when they were not needed. The neck was now occupied with several stinging riches. The horn was gold in the end, but otherwise silver-white. A grey piece of metal protected his mouth while fighting, while behind him a red cape, which was slightly shredded at the edge, blew majestically.

Gennai also wrapped himself in a light and became Alphamon. He was initially wrapped in his light blue cape before throwing it backwards with a hand gesture. The cape now showed its dark blue inside, as well as a slightly torn edge. On the front of the helmet sat a red jewel in a golden frame, shining in the midday sun. There was also such a jewel on the chest, but it was obscured by a metal plate attached to the chest protection. Also on the belly was a red jewel, but this was clearly visible and pointed not forward, but diagonally upwards. The arms and legs were wrapped in thick armour. Alphamon wore heavy shoulder plates that had a golden edge. The upper arms were protected by large metal plates with four triangles on them. One of them was in the middle, the tip turned upwards. The others were on the flat side. Around his wrists were bracelets decorated with a series of golden triangles. On Alphamon's back sat two pieces of metal, which had a rectangular shape and had several small, golden spikes at the bottom and three golden spikes at the top.

Both ultimate-level digimon's looked briefly into their eyes. Jesmons showed shock and grief mixed with incredulity. Alphamon's eyes reflected amusement.

"So, so... So you plan to wipe me out?" the black knight asked.

"...", the Sword-Digimon did not answer him.

He couldn't answer.

"Looks like you're still the stupid dog of the Homeostasis."

"We both know the Homeostasis..."

"What is the reason for my existence? When I've done it... Then I have only one reason to exist..." he imitated him: "How touching."

"Be quiet."

"You're pretty stupid, Jesmon," Alphamon mocked him further: "Everything went the way I thought it would. Ordinemon was born and did a lot of damage."

"Speech is pointless, Alphamon," replied the sword-digimon.

"For once, we agree on this."

Jesmon pulled his blades out of the armguards and made the three energetic beings Por, Atho and René appear. Meanwhile, the black knight summoned his weapon Ouryuken, which made his golden tips on the rectangular metal parts form wings and also became longer. It took a few seconds before the two raced at each other and crossed their arms. Alphamon immediately tried to kick him in the stomach, but Por, Atho and René pushed him away from the Sword-Digimon. Immediately, a green energy laser chased Jesmon. He dodged this by flying into the air. His opponent pursued him and in the air they began to fight. When the Black Knight let his weapon on the Sword Digimon, the three energetic beings created a protective field while their master wrapped himself in his cloak. Ouryuken bounced back on it, but this didn't seem to make Alphamon much. He knew that Jesmon could not use sword spirit twice in a row. So he raised his blade again and dropped it back on his opponent. He tried to evade the attack, but was thrown to the ground by Ouryuken. When it hit the ground, a wide crater formed beneath it. Jesmon rose again and looked at the black knight.

He stretched out his left arm, the palm of his hand opened, so that the energy in his red jewel formed into a ray. The sword-digimon crossed his arms to block the attack. But it struck with a mighty force. Jesmon raced back into the air and attacked his opponent with his blades - he performed a blow with the right arm blade from top right to bottom left, followed by a blow of the left arm blade that went from the bottom right to the top left. Almost at the same moment, the blade raced down again. A short time later, in a fraction of a second, the right arm blade sped from the bottom right to the top right. Eventually, a blow from the right blade followed from left to right.

The black knight tried to intercept the attack with Ouryuken, but could not because of Jesmon's speed. However, when he gave himself an opening, Alphamon pointed his left palm at his chest and fired a green laser. The sword-digimon was thrown several meters away from him, but he quickly led back to him and ordered his energetic beings to attack the enemy with their blades. They immediately appeared in a triangular formation and quickly moved their pointed weapons, which were also their arms. The black knight was pushed back, causing his opponent to speed him up and try to skewer him with his right arm blade. But Alphamon dodged him and slammed his elbow into the back of the sword-digimon. He felt a violent pain as he fell to the ground. On impact, a wide crater formed again, which was several meters away from the first crater. Jesmon wanted to get up again, but he couldn't. His back hurt him too much. He had also lost the will to fight a few minutes ago.

/Why... Why?/, Jesmon snapped it through his head: /Why can't I fight him? Why?/

Alphamon raced towards him and grabbed him by the neck. Then he pushed him to the ground.

/I thought I could... Why did you hide this from me, Homeostasis? Why did you hide it from me that Alphamon is Gennai?!/

The more he thought about it, the sooner he lost his will to live. In the end, he couldn't save Alphamon. He had always believed that he could save him if he defeated Gennai. But now all his hope was gone. Alphamon was Gennai, and Gennai was Alphamon. One and the same person who followed the orders of King Drasil. The fact that the Homeostasis had lied to him also hurt. He had always trusted the god of the digital world. Although perhaps its decision was wrong, he had always believed in it.

"So you give up?" asked Alphamon mockingly.

The sword-digimon looked only to the side.

"The Homeostasis really chose a weak messenger as my successor..." continued the black knight.

Por, Atho and René threw Alphamon off of Jesmon, who raised from his position. But he himself had no will to fight. When the black knight pointed Ouryuken at his chest, he simply closed his eyes. Eventually, Alphamon thrust the blade into his chest, which settled his death. His eyelids opened again to look into the one of the black knight.

"Ultimately... I am just a paw for the Homeostasis... Ultimately... I couldn't save you... from the darkness... My old friend... Alphamon..." the sword-digimon wheeled before turning into data particles.

Alphamon looked behind the data particles before laughing. But his laughter fell silent as he touched his head. Terrible headaches plagued him, and deep inside a voice protested against him. The black knight shook his head.

/Another problem solved.../, he thought after the headache had faded: /Now I just have to defeat the DigiDestined once and for all./

* * *

A crack formed on the white shell of the digi-egg. Immediately, Elecmon was on the spot and watched tensely. What kind of Digimon would slip now? Elecmon had often watched digi-egg slip by themselves without his help, but every time he was happy. The shell got more cracks and soon the shape of the ice changed. A black, fluffy Digimon with big golden eyes blinked the Guardian of the Primary Village several times.

"Welcome," Elecmon greeted the newly hatched.

Botamon blinked at him again before looking around. He couldn't speak yet. In frustration, he made a soap bubble appear out of his mouth.

"Hm... You're really weird," the Guardian said, putting his head to one side: "Otherwise, the newcomers are always screaming continuously."

The micro-digimon blew up his cheeks as if to say that he is not like the others. Suddenly, a baby digimon screamed a little further away.

"Yes, yes. I'm coming," said Elecmon, rushing to the digimon.

Botamon saw his chance to escape now. He hopped out of the basket and walked towards the exit. Immediately the keeper followed him and grabbed him before putting him back in his basket.

"Stay here... Otherwise you will be attacked," he rebuked him.

The micro-digimon just growled furiously and turned away from Elecmon. He did not know where Botamon felt the urge to explore the Digi world. He had no memories from his previous life. But somehow the micro-digimon felt a deep satisfaction at the thought. Somehow, he never wanted to have his earlier memories back. Without thinking further, Botamon began to cheerfully whistle a melody, spitting out soap bubbles. Several baby digimon's did the same to him before the entire Primary Village was littered with soap bubbles. All digimon's then began to laugh cheerfully as the micro-Digimon tried to leave the place again. But this time, too, Elecmon was on hand and grabbed him.

"Should I chain you up so that you don't flee?" he asked, irritated, and brought Botamon back to his basket.

/Let your power run wild.../, the micro-Digimon suddenly heard a voice.

The voice repeated this one sentence again and again until Botamon decided in his basket to follow the instruction. So he eventually disappeared from the basket and from the digital world. Although he didn't know where he was now. It was better than lying in the basket. Several tall trees stretched over him into the sky. With golden eyes on the blue sky, the micro-digimon began to cheerfully whistle a melody and spit soap bubbles. A little further away from him, a human noticed the melody and the soap bubbles. She listened to the melody and closed her eyes. Then she reopened the eyelids and followed the voice. A short time later, she discovered Botamon, which jumped through the area. But he stopped abruptly when he saw the man. Immediately, he began to look at her face. Long, black hair hung smoothly from her head. A pony hid her forehead while a pair of black-rimmed glasses was in front of her eyes. The human held her narrow hands in front of her mouth at the sight of the digimon, then let them sink again.

"A digimon..." she was amazed that she saw one again.

The micro-digimon hopped a few steps away from her and looked at her with displeasure. But the young woman sat on the ground and stretched out her right hand.

"Come here. I'm not doing anything to you," she enticed him.

Botamon changed his gaze from her hand to ground, but made no attempt to approach her. Disappointed, she withdrew her hand and said:

"I… I just thought you were following me..."

She broke off and looked at him with sad eyes. Then she got up again and wanted to go back before noticing soap bubbles.

"Huh?" she said, astonished.

Botamon hopped in front of her and tilted his body as if I wanted to thank her.

"Dan-Dan," she replied kindly.

The body of the micro-Digimon trembled. It seemed like he was fighting for him to speak something. Then, as if a switch had been turned over at him, he answered:

"Dan-Dan."

"What's your name?" she asked, and sat down again.

"Bo... tamon!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"I'm Meiko," she imagined.

"Mei... ko... Meiko. Meiko! Meiko! Meiko! Meiko!" he said again and again, jumping around her with delight.

She laughed and watched Botamon pull his circles around her. At one point, he jumped into her lap and happily cuddled up to her. Meiko stroked his fluffy body and smiled happily. She noticed that the micro-Digimon had fallen asleep, but she didn't care. She lifted it up with her hands and, after standing up, went back home.


	5. Chapter 5 - Old and new friends

**Author's note: Merry X-Mas everyone and a happy new year!**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Old and new friends

A cold breeze swept over Akira's skin as she slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times. Then she rolled on her stomach, came up to all fours and finally sat down on her lower legs. There was only one question hammering in her head. Where was she? Next to her lay Wanyamon, who was not yet conscious. Davis and DemiVeemon had also lost consciousness. Akira thought about what had happened before it occurred to her again. This Digimon, Gallantmon, had brought them back to the real world. But somehow she had felt comfortable with the knight. He had something warm about him. Warm and friendly just like the sun. She also provided warmth and kindness. But the celestial object could also be quite dangerous. Akira felt that this knight-like digimon could also be dangerous.

"It is my duty, after all, to help those in need," his words echoed in her.

"His duty, huh..." she muttered, and then shook her head.

No matter who this Digimon really was, she was glad that he had helped her. But she didn't get rid of the feeling that she had ever seen him anywhere. Maybe she just imagined it... Like so many things she imagined. Someone yawned and she was startled. Then she saw Davis straighten up and blink in amazement.

"Where... are we?" he asked.

"What do I know," she replied.

The young man got up, stretched and moved his head so that he could better grasp the surroundings. Around him were trees and again trees. However, he also believed that he could see a mountain in the distance. Now DemiVeemon also woke up and grabbed his head as if he was in pain.

"Where are we?" was his question.

"I. Don't. Know!" she replied annoyed: "Why do you look different now?"

"Why are you always so annoyed?"

"I'm just going against the grain. Point! And don't answer a question with a question!"

"When I go into the real world, I'm at my training level... It just saves energy."

"Energy? You're the one here who can't digitize to the mega-level!" cried Wanyamon, who was back in consciousness.

The blue dragon was clever enough to keep silent. If she was upset, he didn't care. Suddenly a bush moved. Akira let go of a little scream because she hadn't expected it, and jumped back a good meter. Her partner rolled his eyes, while DemiVeemon stared excitedly at the bushes. Davis also looked at the bushes. First the four saw a part of a fish. More specifically, it was a tuna. Then a Botamon was revealed to them. The fish itself held it with its mouth. When the four saw it, he pulled the fish completely in and chewed something on it before swallowing.

"Who are you?" she asked with a beeping but male-sounding voice.

"A baby digimon who can already speak?" wondered Wanyamon.

"Can't baby digimon speak?" was Akira's question.

"Yes. Except when they've reached a higher level...", Davis shrugged: "At least that's what Izzy claims."

"Answer, please!" shouted the Botamon.

"I'm DemiVeemon!" the little blue dragon imagined, before pointing to his partner: "And that's Davis!"

"Akira Tanaka and this is Wanyamon," she said.

"I am A Botamon!" he said: "Meiko's father had said that I should not approach people I don't know... But you have Digimon with you, I thought to myself that I would meet you!"

"Meiko?", Akira put her head slightly to one side.

"A friend of mine! She's the first person I've met!" said Botamon proudly.

"She's your partner, isn't she?" was Davis's question.

"Partner? We're just friends!"

"This Meiko should be a DigiDestined... If she is friends with a digimon..." DemiVeemon said.

"Meiko... Where have I heard the name before?" the young man asked himself.

"Should I bring you to Meiko?" was Botamon's question.

"Just like that?" said Akira.

"Yes!" little digimon happily hopped up and down.

"You are naive," Wanyamon replied.

"Nai… ve? What does that mean?" asked Botamon.

"Doesn't matter," Davis sighed.

"Okay! Then come! Meiko will be happy that I have made new friends!" cried little Digimon.

"We are not your friends!" said Akira's partner, irritated.

* * *

The four silently looked at the house. It was quite big for a family of three. At the front was a street with a lamppost, while a kind of old Japanese-style terrace was laid out by the garden. The garden itself had a pond where several koi carp swam in it. One of the Koi carp was almost white. If there were still a red dot on the forehead, you could sell it for a lot of money. But since he was only completely white with a grey head, he wasn't worth that much either. Ironic how the appearance of an animal could bring in a lot of money. Next to the pond there was also a tree in the garden.

"I'm back!" exclaimed Botamon cheerfully.

The garden door was opened and a young woman with long black hair and glasses stepped out of the building. She smiled, because she was glad that little digimon had returned. But her cheerful face fell when she saw the four strangers. She noticed that two of them were digimon's, but she was nervous.

"They're friends of mine," Botamon said.

"Friends?" the black-haired woman repeated with a mischiple tone.

"Yes! These are Davis, DemiVeemon, Akira and Wanyamon! They are very nice!"

The young woman lowered her head and looked at the floor. Nervously, she bit herself on the lower lip.

"It-It's… Itsnicetomeetyou!" said Meiko, hurriedly bowing.

"You are weird..." Akira said, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Um... Uh..." she stammered.

"And who are you?" Davis asked her.

"Um... I... I am so sorry!" the black-haired woman replied, bowing again.

"So, who are you now?" was DemiVeemon's question.

"Uh..." she looked nervously at the pond.

"Meiko!" shouted another voice: "Do you please help me cook?"

"Y-yes..."

"Is everything alright, Meiko?" the voice asked, before an elderly woman appeared at the door.

She had wavy, grey-brown hair. Unlike her daughter, she didn't wear glasses, but instead she walked a bit weird. The woman tilted her head slightly to the side at the sight of the four strangers.

"Friends of you?" was her question.

Although she sounded like she didn't really believe it. Her daughter shook her head while Botamon cheerfully hopped to the older woman.

"We're honest," Davis began.

"DigiDestined... at least the humans," Wanyamon said.

"We are their partners," DemiVeemon continued.

"Meiko... Meiko Mochizuki..." introduced the daughter to the foreign humans.

"Huh?" the young man said in amazement.

"Meiko is my name..." she replied.

"You already know our names," Akira replied coolly.

"Come in first... You are certainly hungry," Ms. Mochizuki suggested.

"Oh yes!" the micro-Digimon shouted, happily hopping around Meiko's mother.

/Is this Meiko's partner?/, the red-brown-haired man wondered, before they all went into the house.

But before that, Akira and Davis took off their shoes and took them in one hand so that they would not make the tiles and the carpet dirty. It was common in households in Japan to take off their shoes before entering the actual rooms in the hallway.

When the four newcomers entered the first room, they saw a kitchen with light brown lines, several furniture and a dining table with four chairs. Just over a metre from the table was a door leading to the hallway. Meiko walked through the door and opened it. With a hand gesture, she indicated to the strangers that they could leave their shoes in the hallway. Meanwhile, Wanyamon, DemiVeemon and Botamon sat together. The two foreign digimon's were watched by the micro-Digimon. Didn't he like strangers? Or did he think otherwise? No matter what he thought, the two partner digimon's couldn't figure it out. Eventually Akira came to Wanyamon, lifted him up and placed him on her head. Immediately, the in-training digimon relaxed and made a contented noise while she smiled. Meanwhile, Ms. Mochizuki was preparing dinner.

To do this, she mixed starch, flour and baking powder in a bowl. She then opened an egg and added it to the bowl with some curry and salt. While the dough was resting, Ms. Mochizuki cut the vegetables and meat small and peeled the shrimp. The latter was washed under cold water and then dripped it with a cloth. After this was done, she took chopsticks and pulled the vegetables, meat and shrimp through the dough mixture. Finally, she poured a litre of oil in a saucepan and let it heat until it reached 180 degrees. She put the vegetables, meat and prawns in the pot for a few minutes before picking them up and draining them onto another cloth. While Ms. Mochizuki was cooking, her daughter Botamon was talking. Meiko explained to him a lot about people, their world and tried to satisfy everything the thirst for knowledge of the micro-digimon.

"Say, Mrs. Mochizuki..." Akira suddenly began: "Where exactly are we?"

"In Tottori," she said.

"And where is that?" asked Davis.

The black-haired woman walked into the hallway with Botamon and picked up a map of Japan. She spread it on the dining table. Then Meiko pointed to the southern part of the main island of Japan.

"This is Tottori," she said.

"Where exactly is Tokyo?" was DemiVeemon's question.

"Be glad you're a Digimon and not Davis..." Akira raved as she looked at the map: "Otherwise, I would have said, "Didn't you watch out for geography? Tokyo is here."

It pointed to the northern island of Japan, which was not actually connected to the main island.

"But you don't know yourself in Japan," said the red-brown-haired man, pointing to the eastern part of the main island: "That's where Tokyo lies."

"Sorry, that I know map of America better than the one of Japan," she replied, irritated.

"Calm down, Akira," Davis folded his arms.

"Do other people always argue so often, Meiko?" asked Botamon.

"Actually not," she replied with an uncertain tone.

Before the situation could escalate, however, Meiko's mother called out:

"Food is ready! Meiko, please put the map away. I'm preparing the dining table in the meantime."

"Okay," her daughter replied, clearing the card away.

"Is it really okay for us to be able to eat here with you?" was Davis's question, tilting his head slightly to the side.

'It's okay. My husband is on a business trip anyway," she explained, as she put chopsticks and plates on the table with the food.

Meiko finally came back and sat down at the table. Akira and Davis also sat down as well, while their partners made it comfortable on the table. Botamon also hopped on the table and immediately everyone ate the dish. Everyone? No. Wanyamon looked at his food with disbelief. He had never seen anything like it and it was strange to him why the others ate it.

"Is there something wrong, Wanyamon? If you don't want to eat, I'll eat it," his partner said, before putting a shrimp in her mouth with the help of the chopsticks.

"What is it? I've never seen anything like it," the training digimon said.

"All sorts in tempura dough. Just try it before you complain."

"I didn't complain!" he exclaimed, taking a piece of vegetables in his mouth before chewing on it.

Then he swallowed it down and took a piece of meat.

"Where do you come from?" asked Ms. Mochizuki after a while.

"Tokyo, to be precise, I'm from Odaiba," Davis replied.

"Shibuya," Akira replied.

"We also lived in Tokyo for a few months. Back then, along with a digimon," Meiko's mother said.

Meanwhile, her daughter abruptly stopped eating. Botamon noticed this and looked at her inquiringly.

"Meiko was a DigiDestined?" was Wanyamon's question.

"Yes. Her partner was Meicoomon. She was very friendly to us, but always felt very lonely when Meiko wasn't there," Ms. Mochizuki continued.

Meiko gritted her teeth while her eyes were closed. She tried to hold back her tears with all her strength.

"Meiko?" the micro-digimon asked cautiously, drawing all the attention to her: "Are you all right?"

Her mother's eyes widened.

"Sorry, Meiko," she said, "I am so sorry."

The black-haired woman just got up and left the dining table before going to her room and closing the door behind her. She turned the key over and lay down on her bed before beginning to cry bitterly.

"What was that?" was the young man's question.

"Meiko lost her partner digimon just over a year ago..." Ms. Mochizuki sighed, holding her head with her hands: "When we address her on Meicoomon, she run away... She never really coped that Meicoomon died."

"Now I know!" suddenly Davis exclaimed, "Now I know where the name came from. Tai told me about her!"

Akira, sitting next to him at the table, thrust her elbow into his side.

"Hey!" he complained loudly.

"This was inappropriate!" she raved.

Meanwhile, Botamon hopped off the table and to the door of Meiko's room.

"Meiko!" he shouted, ramming his small body against the wood.

Only sobs came out of the room. But this didn't stop him from trying:

"Meiko! Let me in!"

She looked up briefly from her pillow and stared out the window. Her vision was slightly blurred as her tears were on the inside of the glasses. Then she got up and turned the key over. She then opened the door so Botamon could enter her room before closing the door and turning the key over again. Eventually, she lay down on her bed and continued to cry.

"Meiko...", the micro-Digimon broke off and hopped to her.

Then he snuggled up to her and tried to comfort her. Her eyes suddenly opened and she straightened up. She then looked at Botamon before taking him in her hands, squeezing him by her face and continuing to cry in his black fur.

"Sh..." he said: "I'm here... I will never leave you again... I promise you, Meiko."

Although she cried, she was happy with his words. He tried to comfort her somehow... She has been comforted many times, but she didn't let anyone approach her. Inside, she was always jealous of Tai and the others who could handle her partner digimon's so well without any problems. She therefore always wanted a digimon by her side, who listened to her and encouraged her. Ever since Meicoomon killed Leomon, she always felt a void and loneliness in her, despite the words of the other DigiDestined.

At some point, Meiko's tears had passed and she was just glad he was with her. Perhaps Botamon was simply sent to her so that she no longer felt lonely. But then the thought seemed too odd to her and she didn't think about it anymore. After a while, she let her hands, which held the micro-digimon, sink and looked into his yellow eyes.

"Thank you, Botamon... I really needed it," she thanked, smiling.

"You're welcome," he replied cheerfully.

Suddenly she felt something in her right hand. She knew this feeling because she had felt it seven years ago. The black-haired woman placed Botamon on her bed and slowly opened her right hand, only to realize that there was a digivice in it. This one was almost white. Only the buttons were red and the antenna black. The grey-green screen showed nothing. Meiko looked at the micro-digimon. He looked at her inquiringly, but did not speak. Eventually she smiled softly at him and somehow Botamon knew she was now his partner, that he was now her partner.

At some point, it knocked on the door. Meiko got up, turned the key over and opened the door before her mother entered the room.

"I'm sorry, Meiko," she apologized again.

"It's all right, mom," she said, smiling.

"I know you will never get over her death... And we'll keep talking about it."

"It's okay..." she said, hugging her mother: "I... I am a DigiDestined again!"

"What?" Ms. Mochizuki said, astonished, pushing her daughter away.

"I'm a DigiDestined again!" she cried again, showing her mother the new Digivice: "And Botamon is my partner!"

"I'm happy about that, Meiko. Really."

Her daughter nodded at her again before she passed her mother and returned to the dining room. Botamon and her mother followed her tacitly. When her eyes saw Akira and Davis, as well as Wanyamon and DemiVeemon, she smiled at them.

"Is... everything all right?" the young man asked, stagnantly.

"Yes..." the black-haired woman replied, looking to the ground: "I'm sorry I just ran away..."

"It's okay," DemiVeemon said, "Your mother explained everything to us."

After everyone was finished, they lay down to sleep. Akira, Davis, Wanyamon and DemiVeemon were lucky to be allowed to sleep in the house. Akira and Wanyamon slept in Meiko's room, while Davis and DemiVeemon lay on the couch in the living room. While the stars sparkled in the night sky, the moon of the human world shone. Sometimes you could see a shooting star. But the people and digimon's in the house of Mochizuki slept and did not notice the spectacle. At some point, Wanyamon's body began to tingle slightly.

"Hm... Only three minutes..." he muttered, trying to ignore the tingling.

The tingling intensified and immediately he was awake. He knew someone was calling him. So he hopped out of the window and ended up in the garden. The training digimon moved further away from the house until he couldn't see it anymore and digitized at his mega-level. Then he stretched out his right arm to the side and let it speed to the left, creating a distortion. Dynasmon moved his wings vigorously and flew through the gate into another dimension.

Then he opened the path to the digital world and reached the mountains. From there he flew through the night. His powerfully built wings carried him loosely through the sky as he moved in a hurry. Eventually, he reached an area where nothing was there. No tree, no shrub. Not even rocks or even mountains could be seen. It was like a desert of rock. Any normal digimon would have believed that there was nothing funny about this stone desert. But this area was not normal. Dynasmon knew that. He knew that there was once a metre-high tree here. But the ultimate-level digimon didn't care. He landed on one spot and folded his wings again. Then, as if one had been waiting for him, a distortion opened up. Without hesitation, he stepped through and wandered through the darkness. After a while, his eyes discovered a familiar figure. It was Gallantmon who had his arms crossed. The knight talked to someone. Dynasmon himself could perceive a glitter.

"Welcome," the glitter greeted him and interrupted the conversation with Gallantmon.

"Yes, yes. Why did you call me?" he asked.

"We just wanted to see if you were following our call," the glitter explained.

"Okay," he added ironically: "Can I go now?"

"No... There's something disturbing to report.''

"And what?", Akira's partner folded his arms in front of his chest as he looked angrily at the glitter.

"King Drasil was powered up again," Gallantmon said.

"And that's why you ordered me- What?!" growled Dynasmon, letting his arms sink again.

"We don't hope you take King Drasil's side. After all, you were once faithful to him," the glitter said.

"Who do you think of me, Homeostasis?! After I learned that this guy had rebooted the digital world, I don't want to serve him anymore. I don't want my memories to be blurred again!"

"I don't want that either, Dynasmon," said the knight: "But I'm a little surprised that you're standing up against King Drasil."

"I changed," Akira's partner said in anger.

"I know that all too well."

"But there are three other bad news," the Homeostasis said.

"And the bad news are?" asked Gallantmon.

"First of all, Alphamon is clearly on King Drasil's side. It even goes so far that he had turned on it again," the deity explained.

"Well, great. One of the strongest digimon's is on his side," Dynasmon growled.

"And the second bad news?" was the knight's question.

"Jesmon was killed by Alphamon," Homeostasis said with a depressed tone.

"Great. The newbie died, of course," Akira's partner raved.

"Newbie? He was over 10,000 years old when he was murdered," Gallantmon sighed.

"And the last, worst news of all," the deity began, but interrupted.

"Yes?" both Digimons asked.

"A human invented a weapon that kills digimon's."

"Well?" Dynasmon shrugged: "We're being reborn."

"We weren't finished yet, Dynasmon... This weapon kills digimon's without being reborn."

"That's horrible!" the knight shouted.

"Then this machine that I and Akira saw and destroyed was the weapon. Right?" Akira's partner suspected.

"Yes..." the Homeostasis confirmed: "This weapon... We don't have a name for it yet. But it's dangerous."

"Mountains of problems..." Dynasmon sighed.

"We can at least be glad that Jesmon was reborn," Gallantmon said, "When he's ready, I'll bring him to you, Homeostasis."

"That will not be necessary, Gallantmon," replied the deity: "We have already established contact with him."

"Okay... Can I finally leave now?" urged Akira's partner.

"Why are you in such a hurry to go, Dynasmon?" the knight asked.

But he skipped the question from him and moved his wings vigorously.

"Before you go, Dynasmon..." said the Homeostasis: "We want to send a signal from our network to everyone. It doesn't matter if someone is in the digital or the human world. We want to reunite them."

"Why?" was Dynasmon's question: "We're going to fight each other again anyway."

"We just want to reunite the group in order to defeat that human. And under our command, not under King Drasil's."

"Do what you want," Akira's partner said, slapping again with his wings: " I don't care. And I'm not going to participate!"

With this, Dynasmon flied away, leaving Gallantmon and Homeostasis behind. The knight sighed:

"I told you it was going to be harder than we thought."

"We know. Nevertheless, we will send the signal," the deity said.

"I will support you, Homeostasis."

"It was at least a good idea for us to choose you as the new messenger... You are following your task very conscientiously."

"Thank you very much," he bowed briefly.

"Then let's send the signal."

"Very well."

* * *

Agumon yawned extensively. His partner Tai slept quietly in bed and just turned his back on him. The yellow dinosaur blinked several times to drive the sleep out of the emerald green eyes. It was in the middle of the night when he woke up and got a feeling he had never felt before. He couldn't describe that feeling. It was familiar, but then it was unfamiliar to him. Agumon didn't know exactly. What he knew, however, was that he wanted to meet with Gabumon now. Why? He couldn't explain it. Slowly, careful not to wake Tai, he opened the door and went into the living room. Luckily, there was still the cat flap of the Tai's and Kari's cat at the apartment door. The cat itself had died by now, which particularly affected Kari, because she was very attached to the animal. The yellow dinosaur went through the cat flap, but cursed itself because he got stuck. He really shouldn't have eaten that much. But what could he do for that? Lately, he has been hungry again and again. No one could really explain it. After several attempts, Agumon finally managed to get stuck through the cat flap and ran to a certain place. This place was always used by the DigiDestined when they wanted to talk to each other. The place itself was under a bridge that crossed a wide river. When the yellow dinosaur reached this place, it could already spot Gabumon in the darkness.

"Hello!" Agumon shouted cheerfully and went to him.

"Hello, Agumon," the reptile digimon greeted him: "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I just felt like I wanted to see you... Weird, isn't it?" he laughed.

"Y-yes... Weird... I had exactly the same feeling..."

There was a silence between the two digimon's. After a while, Agumon raised the word again:

"So... Why do you want to see me?"

"I just have a feeling that someone is calling me... But then I feel like he's not calling me," he looked a little nervously at the floor, knowing that the yellow dinosaur wouldn't believe him.

But to his surprise, Agumon confirmed his words that he felt the same.

"Unbelievable..." Gabumon quid.

"Yeah…", he closed his eyes and thought briefly, then came up with an idea: "How about we become Omnimon and then purchased this feeling-"

"Agumon!" the reptile digimon interrupted him: "Without Tai and Matt we can't digivolve!"

"But we can try it!" shouted the yellow dinosaur.

"Okay... It would be worth a try... Although I don't think it would work."

"If you don't believe it, it won't work!" Agumon rebuked him.

"Okay..." Gabumon nodded briefly: "Then we'll try!"

"Okay!"

Both closed their eyes and tried to make a warp digitation.

"Ngh!" the yellow dinosaur said.

"It doesn't work..." groaned the reptile digimon.

"Try it again!"

"No, Agumon... It was a stupid idea. I'm going back to Matt."

Agumon's eyes suddenly opened and he began to growl furiously.

"Because you don't believe in it!" he raved.

"You believe in it... But nothing happens!" argued Gabumon: "We can't digivolve without our partners!"

"So you want to give up, Gabumon?" the yellow dinosaur sounded disappointed: "I really want to know about this feeling!"

"I want to know too... But we can't do anything!"

"At least we both want to know about this feeling," he sighed.

"Yes... True," he agreed.

"Let's try again! Somehow it has to work!"

"Agumon...", his voice sounded pleading.

"I'm not going to give up! Somehow I have to be able to digitize!"

/He is and remains a pig-headed fellow... But that's why we're friends.../, the reptile digimon thought to himself.

"Agumon! Warp digivolve to..." the yellow dinosaur suddenly shouted.

But after just over five seconds, Agumon sighed.

"Somehow I thought it wouldn't work..." he said.

"Why are you trying then?" asked Gabumon.

"I'm really stubborn sometimes..."

"That's you..."

"I should go back to Tai..."

The yellow dinosaur wanted to go back. He had tried everything to digivolve, but nothing really made a difference... Frustrated and also tired, because he had woken up in the middle of the night, he said goodbye to the reptile digimon and went back home. But his thoughts were always swirling around this strange feeling.


	6. Chapter 6 - Homecoming

Chapter 6 – Homecoming

Two Digimon argued violently in the evening sun. The celestial object itself bathed the evening in a beautiful reddish color. Actually, there should be no dispute at the sight of the sun. But two Digimon, each thinking he was more powerful than the other, he was stronger than the other, he was more experienced than the other, had been arguing for a while. Neither of them wanted to give in. They took a different view, everyone was aware of that. But that the argument lasted for at least four days…

"How long do they want to argue? I'm slowly tired of these constant arguments," groaned a Digimon next to Dynasmon, tying her hands behind the helmet.

"No idea..." replied another Digimon, who scratched impatiently with his right foot on the ground.

"Since the sun had risen, they were arguing..." the third Digimon shrugged his shoulders, before driving his own hand through his hair.

"Everyone has a different opinion..." Gallantmon sighed.

"Is there a day when they don't argue?" asked another Digimon.

"Unfortunately, there isn't, louse," said a smaller Digimon, and then gritted his teeth.

"If this continues..." a Digimon moaned, looking at the two, slightly frightened.

"I hope the argument doesn't escalate," the Digimon's eyes closed.

"I don't hope either," another Digimon agreed.

"Maybe we should separate them?" was the question of the last Digimon.

There was a silence between the eleven Digimon. Then Dynasmon started laughing along with three other Digimons.

"Isn't there a day when you don't have a stupid idea?" asked Dynasmon, laughing.

"Sorry, I'm trying to defuse the situation," he raved.

"Well... Your approach was good, boy," said one of the eleven Digimon.

"But you're not going to get them apart," Dynasmon replied.

* * *

Slightly snarling, Wanyamon opened his eyes. He had dreamed of his past. Eventually, he stared out the window. The sun had not quite risen yet, as the birds were already chirping cheerfully towards the morning. The in-training digimon yawned extensively and then looked at Akira. She was still asleep. But on the other side of the room, Meiko stretched out before she startled. Botamon had digivolved to his in-training level, Koromon, who now looked at her in amazement. Then he yawned extensively and wanted to continue sleeping. How could that be? Just digivolve in the middle of the night... But perhaps it was because she was now his partner. She gently shook her partner's pink body so he didn't fall asleep again.

"Hey, don't fall asleep again," she said.

Koromon opened his eyes again: "It's not even tomorrow, Meiko..."

"It is already tomorrow," she smiled and stood up.

Again, she stretched out and looked at Akira and her partner. The latter was already awake and looked at her.

"Good morning," the black-haired woman greeted him.

"Morning," he replied coolly.

"Could you please wake up Akira, Wanyamon?" she asked him.

"Okay." with that he bit his partner vigorously in the hand.

With a sound of pain, Akira's eyes shot open and intuitively catapulted Wanyamon against a wall.

"Man, Wanyamon. It hurts when you bite me!" cried Akira.

"I noticed," he moaned, hopping back to her before jumping on her head.

Because she slept in a bed her long hair was stubble, causing the in-training digimon to jump off her head in frustration and slightly snarling. Akira was a little surprised by Wanyamon's behaviour and looked at him slightly inquiringly. But he only started hopping at the window and yawning more loudly than ever. Akira, meanwhile, looked at the clock. It was eight o'clock in the morning. She wondered if the time in the digital world and the time in the real world differed. Perhaps the time of the digital world flowed faster than in her world, so her disappearance was not noticed at all.

"Shouldn't we go to the living room?" asked Meiko.

"Why?" Akira dropped back into her makeshift bed.

"Sorry," she looked to the ground and bit her lower lip nervously.

"Why do you apologize all the time? It's kind of annoying," she said, straightening up again.

"I'm a bit weird... That's why I apologize," the black-haired woman said softly, looking at her two index fingers, with which she played something around.

"You definitely need more self-confidence."

"I know..."

"Hm..." she closed her eyes: "I got it! What if you do martial arts?"

"I've already tried."

"Football?"

"Have I tried..."

"Um... Tennis?"

"We aren't rich..."

"Um... Uh... Okay. I have no other idea. But seriously. Do you even do sports?!"

"Yes.," she nodded briefly: "Chess."

Akira slapped her palm against her forehead.

"It's not a sport..." she moaned: "I'll give it up! We should finally go down."

"Yes."

Both took their partner's bodies and went down to the kitchen. Once there, they saw that Davis and DemiVeemon were awake. Both chatted excitedly.

"How can you have such a dream?" the young man asked.

"I don't know..." the blue dragon replied.

"You ripped me out of my beautiful dream with your cry."

"Sorry if I dream like that."

"What's the problem?" was Wanyamon's question.

"I would like to know too," Akira agreed with her partner.

"DemiVeemon pulled me out of my beautiful dream with a cry."

"And? Everyone has nightmares," Koromon grumbled.

"Yes... But I dreamed something very beautiful."

"And what?" asked the pink Digimon, looking curiously at him.

"I did some very nice things with Kari," his lips made a mischievous smile.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, I have-"

Akira punched him in the stomach with her elbows while she gritted her teeth. Davis bent forward and held his aching belly. He looked at her groaning.

"Ow... What was that for?" he said.

"You don't say anything like that in public!" she yelled at him as she turned her head away to hide her reddened face.

Meiko, too, was bright red in her face and stammered something in front of her. Koromon did not understand the whole situation and looked at DemiVeemon and Wanyamon curiously. They remained silent until the latter said:

"What did you dream of, DemiVeemon?"

"It was a really weird nightmare. I can't remember it that well. But it felt very real... As if it were a memory," the blue dragon shrugged.

"Great," he raved: "You don't remember a dream, but claim it felt real. You're really weird."

"At least he's not as funny as you are," Koromon said.

"What did you say?!" Wanyamon smiled, but that smile only showed his irritation.

"Nothing..." the pink Digimon muttered anxiously.

"I'd like to hear what you said."

"Um..."

Suddenly the phone rang and somehow defused the whole situation.

"I'm going," Meiko said.

"Wait! I'm coming with me, Meiko!" cried Koromon, followed her into the hallway before jumping on her head.

"Yes? Here is Mochizuki."

"Hello, Meiko," a familiar voice replied.

"Ah, Izzy! How are you doing?"

"Great, thank you very much. Can you come to Tokyo?"

"What is it?"

"Davis went missing again," he said.

"He's here with me," she laughed, a little embarrassed.

"Um... How did he get to Tottori?"

"I don't really know... Wait, I'll get Davis," the black-haired woman put the phone on her shoulder and then shouted, "Davis! Are you coming?"

"Hm?" he said, astonished, and also walked into the hallway: "What is it?"

"Someone wants to speak with you," she replied.

"Okay?" he tilted his head slightly to the side and finally took the phone in his hand, while the black-haired woman went back into the kitchen: "Hello?"

"Hello, Davis," Izzy greeted him.

"Izzy?!"

"Exactly. Where were you?"

"In the digital world with DemiVeemon..."

"And why didn't you come back?"

"Well... The TV was destroyed by a Mammothmon. That's why we travelled through the digital world... But we met another DigiDestined and her partner. They were just looking for a way back to our world. By the way, she's from Tokyo too."

"Then she must be a new DigiDestiend. Has she just moved to Tokyo?"

"I don't know... However, her partner digimon can digivolve to the ultimate-level."

"Okay..." he swayed the air sharply: "How did you come back?"

"A digimon, which we encountered in an upside-down pyramid, opened a portal that had brought us to Tottori."

"Who was this digimon?" asked Izzy as he opened the Digimon analysis program.

"Gallantmon... He looked like a knight with a white armour and had a red cape. He looked very majestic. Ah! He also had such a distinctive symbol of triangles on his chest."

"Hm... I have the picture," the redhead said, looking at the data: "No further information about him. No level, no type, no attacks. It's the same as with Jesmon and Alphamon."

Then he mentioned Alphamon, Davis shivered and he clutched the phone more tightly.

"Probably they're connected somehow," Izzy said.

The young man gritted his teeth and gave his friend no answer.

"Davis? Are you still listening?" the redhead asked cautiously.

"Yes. It's only because of Alphamon..."

"Sorry."

"Anyway," he shook his head briefly: "Could you look for a digimon called Dynasmon?"

"Dynasmon... Hm... I once heard of this Digimon in an old ruin... Let's see," he closed his eyes briefly to remember the text: "Hm... It was called Dynasmon, the Righteous... Only a small part was still legible..."

"And the part was?"

"I have told you."

"Oh."

"Let's leave it with that. I'm looking for Dynasmon..." he interrupted himself and looked at the screen in disbelief: "No information about him either!"

"That's really weird now..."

"I will definitely see if I will find something in old texts... It cannot be that there is no information of four Digimon..." he made an annoyed noise before Izzy calmed down again and continued: "Other subject. How do you get to Tokyo now?"

"I don't have money with me..."

"That's really a problem..."

"What if we ask Meiko?" suggested DemiVeemon.

"Are you sure she can help us?" asked Davis.

"Yes, I am!" the blue dragon said confidently.

"Okay," Izzy replied, "See you."

"See you soon Izzy!" the red-brown-haired man replied.

"See you soon!" said DemiVeemon.

Davis eventually hung up and went back to the kitchen. Everyone talked about non-verbal topics. But they didn't seem to notice the young man and his partner.

"Um... Hello?" said Davis, interrupting the Akira in the middle of the sentence.

"What is it?" she snorted at him immediately.

"I just wanted to ask Meiko something," he said.

"And what?" the person in question looked at him.

"Do you have any idea how we can get back to Tokyo?"

"Yes. I'm going to Tokyo tomorrow because I want to visit a friend there. My mother takes me there."

"That's great!" the red-brown-haired man exclaimed with delight.

"Exactly!" she smiled.

"Great," Akira said, unenthusiastic because she didn't want to go back to Tokyo and to her sister.

She wanted to see her, but she felt bad about how she had treated Sera over the years. In addition. How should she keep Wanyamon secret from them? And she was already wondering how Sera would react to him. Akira shivered. Sera, she thought, would then throw her out.

* * *

Quietly, the car drove through the countryside. Koromon watched the area with a joyful expression on his face. Meiko sat with him and her mother in the front, while the rest sat in the back. Bored, Akira looked out the window and simply stared at the passing area with an expressionless face. Davis chatted quietly with DemiVeemon.

"When are we finally here?" asked Akira, irritated.

"We are there two more hours," Ms. Mochizuki said.

"Two hours?!"

"Yes. Maybe we should have taken the train."

The teenager groaned angrily and looked at Wanyamon, who was asleep on her lap. He seemed to enjoy the movement of the car very much and so he slept for over an hour.

"When can we actually take a break, mom?" was Meiko's question.

"Let's see... There's a resting place," she said, smiling.

"Great!" shouted the young man and Akira unison.

"What are we going to do with the digimon?" the black-haired woman asked.

"They're going to pretend they're cuddly toys," Davis replied, "That's always worked out."

"Cuddly toys?" was Koromon's question.

"That means you're not allowed to move or speak..." explained DemiVeemon.

"Sounds stupid..." the pink Digimon raved.

"It's stupid... But do you have a better idea?" Akira grumbled immediately.

"No..." said Koromon, looking at the floor in a bemused way.

Ms. Mochizuki eventually steered the car to the rest area. After finding a parking space, everyone got out and explored the area a bit. The rest area itself was on a lookout and so you could look down into a valley with a lake. Several trees were on the slope and slightly obscured the view of the clear lake. Surely the place would look even more beautiful if the sun tilted to the western horizon, so that the area shone in a beautiful hue. Wanyamon, who was awakened by the stop of the car, hopped on the terrain and looked to the water. Koromon and DemiVeemon also looked at the lake and enjoyed being able to sniff the pure air of the mountains. Meiko, who stood behind her partner, gently stroked his pink coat. Koromon made a purring noise and enjoyed the petting session very much.

"What a beautiful view," enthused Meiko's mother.

"Yeah!" Davis agreed.

"I also like the view..." but in my mind the black-haired woman was at something else.

This was evident because she looked dreamily into the distance and her cheeks turned slightly in a red colour.

/I hope I'll see him again in Tokyo.../, she thought and sighed.

"Are you alright, Meiko?" suddenly asked Koromon, who had completely forgotten that he should behave like a cuddly toy.

Several people, who also enjoyed the view, looked at the group and began to mutter. Some children clinged anxiously to their parents' arms, while some people threw disapproving glances at the group.

"Shh!" Akira hissed softly: "Do you want to get trouble, Koromon!"

"It's amazing how well you can do ventriloquism, Davis," Ms. Mochizuki exclaimed enthusiastically.

However, her voice sounded very uncertain.

"Exactly!" the person said, laughing a little dryly: "What exactly is ventri… something?"

The group tacitly enjoyed the view before they went back to the car and drove on towards Tokyo. After about two and a half hours they reached the city. Meiko's mother had said that they only needed two hours of driving, but no one could have guessed that they were stuck in a traffic jam. While Akira and Wanyamon left the group in Shibuya, the rest continued to Odaiba. The district was located in the Minato district, which in turn was adjacent to Shibuya. Akira herself wandered through the city for a while until she had the courage to go to her sister. But when she saw the doorknobs of her apartment and extended her hand to it, she hesitated. She pulled her hand back and sighed heavily. She couldn't do it. She could not face her sister.

"What's going on, Akira?" asked Wanyamon.

"I..." she began, but broke off.

"Is there something wrong?"

"I should have stayed in Tottori," she said, depressed.

"Why?"

"I have argued with my older sister and her boyfriend very often... I don't really deserve to be her sister..."

"Don't be like that! I don't know your sister, but you should go to her."

"And I brought a digimon with me..."

"What's so bad about it?"

"In this world, many people see digimon as dangerous... Some even say that they must not exist..."

"Come on. You know me."

"That's the problem right now... You're very impulsive."

"I'm not impulsive!" shouted the in-training digimon.

"Wanyamon..." she sighed, staring further at the doorknob.

"Okay... Something is really wrong with you."

"I just can't..." she breathed and walked down the stairs again.

Then she left the building as soon as she had come. Akira had been preparing for the meeting with Sera, but she was now backtracking.

"Akira!" cried Wanyamon.

She ignored him and continued at a fast pace.

"Akira!" again her partner tried to get her attention.

She ignored him again.

"AKIRA!," shouted the in-training digimon.

"What?!" she quid.

"If you don't confront your sister now, it's going to get worse next time! So go back and finally talk to her!"

"What do you know about my problems?!" she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Not much... But you should really talk to her instead of snorting at me!"

"Shut up!"

Wanyamon suddenly began to growl. But not because he was angry with her. Somehow the atmosphere had changed slightly. And he didn't like it at all. The in-training digimon froze briefly and looked in a certain direction.

"Now you're very angry again," Akira raved.

"No... It's something else... A digimon appears right here," he said.

"What?" her eyes widened with shock.

"Yes. In that direction," he said, pointing to a very specific direction.

"There is a park... At least enough space to fight this digimon."

"Let's go!"

The teenager took her partner in both hands and started running. However, she was in poor condition and stopped after a good two minutes of heavy breathing.

"How far away is the park, Akira?" asked Wanyamon.

"Five minutes... with the... bicycle..." she quid.

"And what is a bicycle?"

"That," she pointed to a wire.

"Okay..." he said.

She breathed in and out several times before she started running again. Some people ran away with fear from the abnormal weather triggered by the invading Digimon. One of the people accidentally left a bicycle so she grabbed it, put her partner in the basket and cycled to the park. Once there, the sky had already deformed. An unusually strong wind blew, announcing the arrival of the digimon.

Suddenly a portal opened and a skeletonized mammoth appeared. Apart from the head, his entire body was covered with white-silver bones. However, the body still had a red organ, which beat regularly. The head was covered by golden armour with scooping out for the blood-red eyes. The trunk of the digimon swelled upwards, leaving a scream. The dark brown to black ears moved incessantly. Again, the digimon left a scream.

"What kind of digimon is this?" asked Akira.

"A SkullMammothmon... That's the ultimate-level of a Mammothmon," the in-training digimon explained before leaving the bike basket.

"Good... Then we will defeat it," she said, drawing her Digivice.

"Agreed! Wanyamon warp-digivolve to... Dynasmon!"

Immediately, her partner rushed to the mammoth and tried to overpower it. But the SkullMammothmon fired several bones from his body at the enemy. Although Dynasmon dodged several, a bone drilled into his left thigh, causing him to fall.

"Dynasmon!" shouted Akira.

/Why?/ he asked himself.

"Watch out!"

He raised his head and saw that the skeletonized mammoth ran at him.

Without thinking further, he struck vigorously with his wings and rose into the air. Then he pointed both palms at the enemy and fired an energy beam from the jewels. These collided with the body of SkullMammothmon, but did not cause any major damage.

/Why am I so weak?/, it shot through his head.

He briefly shook his head and raced at the opponent to bring him down with his hands. The skeletonized mammoth turned its body so fast that it brought down Dynasmon. Akira's partner stayed for a few seconds before rising again in frustration and anger. Snarling, he looked briefly at his partner. He came up with the idea that she was hindering him through her divisiveness. But that shouldn't affect him so much, right? He wasn't sure. SkullMammothmon rose to his hind legs and stomped his front legs on the ground. Dynasmon lost his balance again and fell to the ground.

"I can't lose to a SkullMammothmon!" he said to himself angrily: "Why can't I win?!"

Akira looked anxiously at her partner, who somehow tried to get up again. However, the skeletonized mammoth placed a foot on Dynasmon's chest so he could not rise again. Meanwhile, she clutched her digivice with both hands.

"Why can't he win?" she asked herself, "He hasn't gotten weaker..."

SkullMammothmon put his head in his neck and screamed again before trying to kill Akira's partner with his tusks.

"Rosemon!" shouted an unknown voice.

"Forbidden Temptation!" a pink energy charge shot at the skeletonized mammoth.

Immediately, the opponent was knocked down from Dynasmon. A digimon and a woman appeared.

The digimon looked very humane, because she looked like a woman with a cape that was green on the outside and white on the inside. The body was covered by a red suit, while a pink rose was over the chest. There was also a rose on his head, which was actually a hat and covered the eyes. The blonde hair was tied together by a rose brace to a braid. On both hands were thorn whips, which this digimon could use for one of their attacks. Almost to the beginning, the legs were wrapped in black boots.

"We almost have him!" cried Rosemon's partner, holding her Digivice in the air.

Behind SkullMammothmon a portal opened.

"One more blow!" she said.

Another digimon appeared and fired an energy laser at the skeletonized mammoth. It screamed in pain before breaking into a thousand pieces of data. The young woman reacted in shock and her mouth was wide open.

Then she became angry and shouted at the strange digimon:

"Why were you doing this? We could have brought him back to the digital world!"

The strange digimon, however, did not answer and disappeared as soon as it came. Meanwhile, the stranger grimaced furiously, while her partner's digimon turned into a small, plant-like digimon. Dynasmon, exhausted and frustrated, turned to his in-training level. Then he was picked up by Akira.

"We didn't need your help," Akira explained, but didn't look at her.

"Really not?" she tilted her head slightly to the side, looking at her inquiringly: "Without Palmon's intervention, your partner would have died. Right, Palmon?"

"Exactly, Mimi!" replied the plant-like Digimon.

"In addition," Mimi approached her: "DigiDestined help each other!"

"That's your opinion," the in-training digimon raved.

"We don't need help from strangers..." his partner said snippets.

"But you're just like me, you are a DigiDestined," the brown-haired woman tried to convince Akira somehow.

"And?" the youngster said to herself: "That doesn't automatically make us friends... Besides... You think you're something better. I can't stand such people! They are selfish and conceited."

With this, Akira began to leave her.

"You are the egoist!" shouted Mimi angrily.

"Are you looking for a fight?!" Akira replied angrily: "If not, leave me alone!"

When she disappeared from the field of view of the brown-haired and Palmon, Mimi murmured:

"She is an idiot."

Akira herself, meanwhile, rushed to her sister's apartment. When she was back at the door, she hesitated while Wanyamon looked at her in silence. She should finally ring and face her sister. The teenager stretched out her arm and finally pressed the bell after taking a deep breath. Then she waited. At first nothing happened and she looked to the ground. No one was at home. But then the door was opened and immediately Akira was pulled into a hug.

"Where were you, Akira?" asked Sera sobbing, "We were so worried about you."

The person in question put her arms on her sister's back and pressed her to herself. Then she put her head on Sera's shoulder.

"I'm sorry... Sera... I'm sorry," Akira said again and again, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Shh... I'm also sorry... I shouldn't have argue with you," she said.

After Akira had calmed down, she pushed her sister away and looked her in the eye. Then she bent down and took Wanyamon in her hands.

"Hm?" said Sera, looking at the in-training digimon: "What is this?"

"A cuddly toy, what I have found," her sister replied.

"Okay," she smiled, and stepped aside: "Come in."

Akira nodded and entered the apartment. She 'put' Wanyamon on the dresser and took off her shoes before getting up again and taking her partner's body again in her hands. Then she went briefly to her room and put the in-training digimon on her bed.

"Well... Was that so bad, Akira?" asked Wanyamon.

"I expected her to be angry with me," she said.

"She was just worried about you, Akira."

"I noticed," she smiled at her partner before going back to the door: "I want to talk to my sister for a while. Is that okay for you?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"You will be alone."

"I don't mind," he said, making himself comfortable on her bed.

"Thank you, Wanyamon."

With that she walked out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen. Then she talked to her sister for a while. Both had a lot to tell. Sera quickly realized that her sister had changed a little bit. She was no longer so aggressive about certain things she said. After dinner, Akira retreated back to her room.

"And? How did it go?" her partner asked.

"We talked a lot..." she explained, "But it was needed."

"Did you tell her where you were?"

"No," she shook her head: "But she accepted that I didn't want to tell her."

"See? Nothing bad happened... You shouldn't have been so scared."

"I wasn't scared!" she shouted.

"Really not?" Wanyamon teased her: "Why did you hesitate?"

She remained silent and lay down in bed next to the in-training digimon.

"Well... I was scared," she admitted.

"Everyone is scared, Akira. Even I am scarred sometimes."

"I noticed in the fight against this SkullMammothmon..."

"I wasn't scarred… Somehow I was very weak... I can't really explain it... Normally..." he broke off.

"Normally you would be able to defeat such a digimon, wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

"Hm..." she closed her eyes and exhaled.

She fell asleep in her school uniform within seconds, while Wanyamon lay quietly beside her. After a while, the door was quietly opened. Sera entered the room and sighed:

"She's already asleep in her school uniform..."

Her gaze wandered to Wanyamon, who pretended to be a cuddly toy.

Akira's sister put a hand on his body and muttered:

"Watch out for my sister... She may be very impulsive, but in truth she is very lonely because she has no friends. Maybe it's better if she's a DigiDestined."

The in-training digimon began to move his small body and finally looked at Sera.

"You know I'm a digimon?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she nodded.

"How do you know?"

"I used to be a DigiDestined... Together with my boyfriend Shin and three other children. We all once saved the digital world."

Akira began to mutter and become restless. Her sister took the blanket and placed it over her shoulder. Then she turned back to Wanyamon:

"We should keep talking in the kitchen."

"There's nothing left to talk about, Akira's sister," he said.

"My name is Sera..." she corrected him: "Good. How about I tell her tomorrow that me and Shin were DigiDestined."

"I don't care."

"Then I'll tell her tomorrow..." Sera decided, "Good night. And there is one more thing."

"Yes?" he said, astonished.

"Watch out for my sister."

"I will."

With that, Akira's sister left the room again, while Wanyamon closed her eyes and also fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7 - The legend

Chapter 7 – The legend

Gabumon listened quietly to the gentle music of the harmonica. His eyes were closed and he clearly enjoyed the pleasant melody. He had leaned against the sofa and almost fell asleep. As always, the reptile digimon liked it when his partner Matt Ishida played something on his harmonica. It simply relaxed him and let him dive into a world of enjoyment and relaxation. The everyday life of a partner digimon was sometimes stressful and since Gabumon in particular was very calm, he needed such moments. Matt had been playing the instrument for good ten minutes, but he didn't seem to stop. For the blond-haired man, playing on the harmonica was always reminiscent of his younger brother Takeru, better known as T.K. Takaishi.

T.K. had grown up during her first adventure in the digital world. Matt was proud of it, but sometimes he just wanted the younger brother to take care of. But then Matt suddenly stopped playing.

"What's wrong, Matt?" his partner asked him.

"Nothing..." he replied, putting the harmonica aside.

"Something is wrong with you."

"..."

"I know you."

"I know..." he closed his eyes and sighed, "Sometimes I just wish we could go back to the time when we were just children."

"You humans are growing, Matt. But I will always be with you, you know that."

The blonde-haired man gently stroked Gabumon over his fur.

"And sometimes I want to be able to travel back in time to save Meicoomon," he admitted, reopening his eyelids.

"Matt... We cannot turn back time. We can only make sure that we do not make the same mistakes in the future," the reptile digimon said.

His partner smiled at his wise words and looked at him.

"Besides… Sometimes death is the salvation for someone," Gabumon said.

"That's probably true..." Matt agreed.

It knocked on the door and the blond-haired man looked to it. A short time later, the door was opened and two familiar faces entered. They were Sora, Matt's girlfriend, and her partner, Biyomon. The former smiled at him and sat right next to him. The bird digimon, meanwhile, made herself comfortable on a clothes rack.

"I hope I don't interrupt," she said.

"You don't do that, Sora..." the blonde replied.

"How do you feel?"

"Good..."

There was a crushing silence. The two partners looked at each other, but didn't know any more.

"Meiko is a DigiDestined again," Sora said.

"Really?" he sounded astonished.

"Yes," she nodded, "Her partner is a Koromon."

"How do you know that?" asked Gabumon.

"Meiko stays with me for a week, so that's why," she explained.

"She's with Tai and Agumon right now," Biyomon said.

"The two spend a lot of time together," the blonde-haired man said.

"That's probably true. I even think Tai is in love with her."

"It's pretty obvious," Matt drove his hand through his blond hair.

Meanwhile, Sora looked at the clock and was terrified.

"I have to go," she said.

"Why?"

"Me, Biyomon and my mother wanted to go to a restaurant," she said, " Biyomon?"

"Okay," said the bird digimon, flying to her partner's side.

Then they left the room again.

"But something is really wrong with you. I know you," Gabumon said.

Matt sighed and looked at the door where Sora had disappeared just over a minute ago.

"I'm wondering if I'm going to America..." the blonde finally explained.

"That would mean leaving all your friends here... Well, apart from Mimi."

"Exactly," he nodded, "I'm just afraid that they won't be my friends anymore..."

"That's ridiculous, Matt! No matter how far you live from them, they are and remain your friends!"

Again, Matt's mouth escaped a long sigh. Lost in thought, he looked at his harmonica, which he held in his hands. He turned it briefly and looked at it again.

"I once had a friend... We were only six years old. One day his parents moved to Germany and so the contact broke off..." said the blonde-haired man.

"Unlike you, he's not a DigiDestined... You can see your friends in the digital world," Gabumon put his hands on his partner's thighs.

"That's probably true... But the earth turns, Gabumon... This means that there is a time difference. If here in Japan it's just four o'clock in the morning, in America it is in the evening."

"Ah..." he said, "That's a problem."

"Exactly... I just don't want to lose my friends, Gabumon."

Matt took the instrument and put it on his mouth. Then he started playing again. He was so immersed in it that he didn't notice his partner leaving the room. He wanted to meet with Izzy and Tentomon. When Gabumon reached the redhead's work apartment, Izzy's mother just walked out the door.

"Huh?" she said, astonished: "Do you want to go to Izzy?"

"Yes," replied the reptile digimon.

"He's just asleep. He had worked all night again... Izzy said, however, that he had found an old legend about some knights."

Then Gabumon heard the word 'knight' he looked up at Ms. Izumi inquiringly.

"But I don't know exactly what the legend is... You'd have to ask Tentomon."

"I'll," he said, running up the stairs to Izzy's work room.

Once there, he knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" asked a scratchy-sounding voice.

"It's me, Tentomon," the reptile digimon replied.

"Okay!"

The door was opened and a red insect digimon appeared. With a hand gesture, he led his friend into the room. In one corner, Izzy slept, wrapped in a thick blanket. Quiet snoring noises could be heard from him.

"Please speak quietly... Izzy worked all night," Tentomon explained quietly.

"Understand," Gabumon replied, sitting on the sofa.

"What do you want here? Normally you only come here with Matt..."

"Some days ago in the night I had a weird feeling... It seemed to call me, but then not... Agumon also had this feeling... I just wonder if you felt it too."

"No... What are you talking about? I and Izzy have been working on an old legend that we recently discovered."

"Izzy's mother had told about it... Something with knights..."

"That is correct."

"So what's the legend?"

It just rang at the door, which woke up Izzy. Stunned, he looked through the room before his eyes saw Gabumon.

"What are you doing here, Gabumon?" the redhead asked tiredly, and yet he sounded a little grumpy, even though that was not his intention.

"I just wanted to know something," the reptile digimon said.

Again it rang and Izzy went to the door. When he saw Matt through the peephole, he opened it so that he stepped in.

"Izzy, have you seen Gabumon?" was the blond-haired man's question.

"Yes," Izzy pointed to the reptile digimon.

"Gabumon!" shouted Matt angrily: "Why did you just leave me?!"

"Sorry. I just wanted to talk to Izzy and Tentomon."

"Why?" the blond-haired man asked, before taking a deep breath.

"Last night I had such a weird feeling."

"Weird feeling?"

Gabumon nodded and explained:

"It seemed to call me, but then not... Agumon also felt that feeling. That's why I wanted to meet with Izzy and Tentomon."

"Okay? But tell me beforehand. You know exactly how people react to free-running digimon."

"I know…"

"So, Izzy... Do you have an explanation for this feeling?"

"No," the person in question replied, before yawning extensively: "I sat for the last two days on an old legend that I and Tentomon had found."

"A legend?" Matt repeated.

"I'm going to pull them all together as soon as we've completely deciphered them," he yawned again: "Until then-"

"Until then, we can already drum up the others and tell them about the deciphered part!" the blonde-haired man interrupted him.

"There's no point, Matt. We have only been able to decipher two lines."

"Of how many?"

"Seventeen."

"But we want to know what the legend is all about!" shouted Gabumon.

"Okay..." Izzy sighed, "Then you call all together. As far as I know, Meiko should also be here."

"She stays at Sora for a week," Matt confirmed.

"Good... And Mimi is also in Tokyo. Okay. Let's all drum together. In the meantime, I'm going to sleep a little further." so the redhead lay down on the floor again, rolled into the blanket and fell asleep within a few seconds.

Meanwhile, Matt called all his friends. Tai was on a trip with Meiko, Agumon and Koromon. The blonde-haired man reached them while they were in a shopping mall. After a good ten minutes later Gabumon's partner had called all the DigiDestined. He was lucky that everyone was there within half an hour. The DigiDestined sat on the three sofas, while their partner's digimon either made themselves comfortable in their partner's lap or just sat down on the floor. Izzy, who was now sitting on his PC, drunk in his sleep, nodding his head slightly back and forth, and whose eyes sometimes fell, finally began the conversation:

"I and Tentomon have found an old legend just over a quarter of a year ago..."

He had to yawn once. He held his hand in front of his mouth and his eyes closed.

"And?" pressed Yolei.

"This legend... We have only been able to translate two lines... And the beginning of another sentence..."

"Why does it take so long?" asked Davis.

"Because the text is in an old language," Ken explained.

"Exactly, Ken. The text was written about 10,000 years ago," the redhead replied.

"10,000 years?!" said Kari in shock.

"That's really long!" said Mimi.

"Who actually wrote the text?" was Joe's question.

"Maybe the Homeostasis?" suggested Tai.

"I think so too" Meiko agreed.

"I don't know," Izzy said, "the writing itself roughly corresponds to Latin. That's why I was able to translate it."

"Why didn't you completely translate it?" asked Cody, "I mean. If the text roughly corresponds to Latin..."

"The emphasis is on rough, Cody," Matt replied.

"Exactly," the redhead agreed: "The text itself is very difficult to translate..."

"But if it's so difficult, why are you dealing with it?" was Sora's question.

"It's good for some knights who once protected the digital world," Izzy said.

"Knights?" T.K. repeated, skipping Patamon over his fur.

"What if we finally hear the translated lines?" suggested DemiVeemon.

"Yes! I want to know!" demanded Agumon.

"Me too, me too!" cried Koromon, hopping from Meiko's lap to the table.

"Calm down you three," Gabumon said.

"Good," the redhead nodded: "Then I'll show you the translated lines. By the way, I had already told Davis about it."

"You had?" asked Minomon incredulously as he looked at his partner Ken.

"Yes. He told me that there is a new DigiDestined in Tokyo and their partner digimon is one of the digimon from that legend," Izzy explained.

"When are you finally telling us the legend?" complained Gomamon.

"We want to know!" Biyomon impatiently slapped her wings.

"If you don't let him speak out, he can't tell the story," Tentomon rebuked the others.

Everyone then remained silent and looked to the ground in shock, before turning their gaze back to the redhead.

"Can I tell the legend now? Well.

_Thirteen knights, once blessed, protected the world._

_Thirteen knights, once proud, fell into an argument._

And then there's a name and a title.

_Dynasmon, the Righteous_

That's it. We haven't been able to decipher more," Izzy concluded.

"That's really not much now," Matt said.

"Thirteen knights, huh?" said Upamon, flying into Cody's lap.

"What thirteen knights?" Gatomon asked.

"We don't know," Tentomon replied.

"But now we know that there used to be protectors of the digital world!", Poromon sounded very pleased.

"Despite that. I wonder why these knights have argued."

"This is a very good question," a stranger's voice suddenly said.

"Hackmon?!" shouted Joe, terrified.

But it was not Hackmon who stood in front of the table. It was a completely different Digimon, which went on two legs.

"Hackmon is no longer with us," the digimon replied.

"Guilmon," Davis said, "What are you doing here?"

"I can give you answers," Guilmon replied, looking with his eyes at the DigiDestined and their partner, "But before I do, I will introduce myself to you. My name is Guilmon and I am the new messenger of the Homeostasis."

"What exactly happened to Hackmon?" asked Meiko.

"He was murdered by Alphamon. But that is now irrelevant. The Homeostasis wants to cooperate with you to translate the old legend."

"Wait a minute! The Homeostasis is the god of the digital world, isn't it? Then it should know what this legend is about!" exclaimed Joe.

"The Homeostasis itself was still very young at the time the legend was created. It's basically a system created by King Drasil personally."

"Why would King Drasil create this Homeostasis guy?" was Davis's question.

"King Drasil feared at the time that it would eventually destroy the digital world. That's why it had developed several plans so that this wouldn't happen," Guilmon sighed.

"These plans," Agumon began.

"Have been inadequate," the red dinosaur interrupted him: "Someone who could stop King Drasil fell into the darkness and is still there. The Homeostasis itself could never defeat King Drasil without the help of this digimon."

"And this digimon was Jesmon?" asked Sora.

"No. Jesmon was created by the Homeostasis... However. He has as much power as this other digimon."

"Who this other Digimon anyway?" was DemiVeemon's question.

"Alphamon," Guilmon replied.

Everyone in the room was terrified.

"Wa-wait a minute!" Yolei exclaimed: "Alphamon?! He defeated me, Ken, Davis and Cody, because we learned of King Drasil's plans!"

"Alphamon himself is not really a malicious Digimon. He should control King Drasil."

"And why did he attack and abduct Davis and the others?" asked Tai angrily.

"A lot of you know the Dark Master's," explained the red dinosaur: "Once upon a time, Alphamon, together with the Homeostasis, had made preparations to defeat the Dark Masters, Devimon, Myotismon, and Apocalymon. That is why you eight children had been chosen."

"Wait! The Homeostasis once said that it worked together with Gennai," Sora began.

"Gennai is Alphamon-"

"What?!", shouted several DigiDestined and partner digimon unison.

"Back then, Alphamon and the Homeostasis already knew very well about the connection between humans and digimon, which is why it wanted to bring people into the digital world," Guilmon said.

"Yes. But why," T.K. said.

"Huh? Yes. Understood. Unfortunately, I cannot answer your further questions. I just received a command from Homeostasis. But don't worry," behind Guilmon a distortion appeared and he jumped a few seconds later, "I'll be back in touch with you soon."

With that, the distortion disappeared again. All those present remained silent.

* * *

Tai strolled through the mall again with Meiko, Agumon and Koromon after talking to his friends. He enjoyed his time with the black-haired man and whenever he smiled at her, she looked in shame and played with her index fingers. Most of the time he had to laugh about it, and Meiko started laughing. If you hadn't known better, you could say they'd known each other since childhood. But they didn't. They only met over a year ago.

Their partners acted as if they were stuffed animals so that they could walk through the passages undisturbed. However, Koromon was very nervous, because it was the first time for him to see so many people. He could hardly hide his excitement, which is why his partner pretended to be belly-talking. Agumon, however, was deeply immersed in his thoughts. He did not pay attention to the conversation between his partner, the black-haired woman and her partner. The yellow dinosaur thought of the ancient legend that Izzy had found. Lately, Agumon has been thinking about certain things. It actually started with this weird feeling. As the crowds of people walked past them, the black-haired woman stopped at a restaurant, which offered ramen. Ramen itself was a well-known noodle soup with many ingredients. Among other things, the bean paste miso or pork loin was used.

"Are you hungry, Meiko?" asked Tai.

"I thought about maybe Koromon could eat something like that," she explained, looking at the digimon in her arms.

"I want something with tempura dough!" her partner shouted, immediately reaping several suspicious glances from others.

To prevent him from speaking further, the brown-haired man pressed his left palm on the mouth of the digimon and raved:

"Quiet. Digimon are not popular here. Do it as if you were a stuff toy like Agumon, right Agumon?"

The yellow dinosaur didn't even notice that his partner was addressing him so much the legend bothered him.

"Agumon?" Tai said, "Agumon!"

The said Digimon began to blink in amazement and finally asked:

"Tai? What did you just say?"

"Were you immersed in your thoughts?" was his partner's question.

"I'm just a little bit preoccupied with the legend."

"A little bit?" asked Koromon, who somehow managed to get his mouth away from Tai's palm.

"Okay... I'm very concerned about this legend," Agumon said.

"You can think about it at home," the brown-haired man said.

"Okay."

The group of four finally decided to eat something in the ramen restaurant. When no one looked, Meiko kept pushing Koromon a few noodles or a piece of meat into his mouth. While Tai was eating, however, he was very worried about Agumon, because he didn't eat anything. Normally, the yellow dinosaur was always hungry. The black-haired woman laughed a bit as Koromon accidentally dropped a piece of meat before shoving another piece into his mouth. The pink digimon chewed and swallowed before smiling broadly. Outside, however, the sky slowly turned grey. Tai, who happened to be looking over his shoulder, said:

"Looks like it's going to rain soon."

"No," Agumon replied earnestly.

"Huh?"

'It's not going to rain. Something is just entering the real world."

"Are you sure, Agumon?"

"I am!"

"Is it a digimon?"

"What question is that, Tai? Of course it's a digimon!"

"Good. Then we will force him back into the digital world," Tai decided, going out with Agumon.

Meiko and Koromon followed them and immediately they reached a round place, which was partly covered.

"Meiko, go back!" the brown-haired man ordered.

"But," she began.

"Koromon can't fight... And we don't know who exactly the digimon is!"

"I..." she looked to the ground before shaking her head: "I'm not going anywhere!"

Stunned, Tai looked at her. Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and screamed:

"You and Koromon can't do anything!"

"Just like then… Meicoomon..." she said, but interrupted.

"I have a very bad feeling about it," Agumon raved.

Above the group of four, a portal had opened from which a little later a figure wrapped in pixels landed on the ground. With a hand gesture, the Digimon removed the pixels, while the brown-haired and Meiko looked at it with wide-open eyes.

"Alphamon..." Tai quid, before he grind his teeth.

Immediately, the black knight pointed his palm at the DigiDestined as green energy accumulated in the jewel.

"Agumon!" shouted the brown-haired man.

"Okay! Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"

Just as a laser was fired at the group, WarGreymon created a yellow energy sphere between his Dramon Killers, which he threw at the laser. The two attacks collided with an explosion. Then Tai's partner rushed to Alphamon and kicked him in the abdomen with one leg. The black knight, unfazed by this, threw WarGreymon against a lamppost and immediately fired another laser at him. The dragon man dodged it to the left and ran again to his opponent. While the two were immersed in their fight, Tai somehow tried to convince Meiko to stay away from the battleground. But she was very stubborn and constantly insisted on staying here.

"Why don't you understand it?!" the brown-haired man exclaimed, stunned.

"I'm not going to leave, Tai!" she said.

Koromon looked helplessly between the two DigiDestined when he noticed that Alphamon was attacking them.

"He is attacking us!" he screamed in panic.

Immediately Tai threw him and the black-haired woman to the ground, so that the energy beam narrowly missed her. WarGreymon turned quickly, forming a flaming tornado around him. Then he rammed the black knight.

"Why don't you understand it?! I care about you! So finally flee!" Tai yelled at her.

"And leave you alone?!" she answered as she rose.

"I don't know what Alphamon is up to!"

"Meiko," her partner said: "Tai is right. We should flee. I can't fight him!"

Meiko briefly closed her eyes and her body began to tremble. She wrestled with herself. She couldn't leave Tai alone here, but she couldn't do anything herself. Just like always. She was just there and couldn't do anything. Her hands clenched to fists as she began to struggle with her tears. Meanwhile, WarGreymon and Alphamon fought each other mercilessly. The dragon man himself cursed that Gabumon was not there, otherwise he could have merged with him and beat the black knight, as they did the first time they met him. WarGreymon again created a bright sphere between his claws and threw it at the enemy. However, he hurled the attack away against a Ferris wheel with his left arm. Luckily, the driving attraction was just being serviced and there were no construction workers there. The dragon man nevertheless looked briefly at the Ferris wheel to make sure that no people were injured. However, the opponent took advantage of this carelessness, as he raced to WarGreymon and grabbed him by the neck before pushing him to the ground. He pointed the other hand at the dragon man's chest to give him the rest with a ray of energy.

"WarGreymon!" screamed Tai.

Koromon jumped out of Meiko's arms and fired several bubbles at Alphamon. As he ran to the opponent, the black knight threw the pink digimon against the wall. His partner immediately rushed to him and knelt down to him before taking him into her hands.

"Koromon," she said anxiously.

"I'm alright," he moaned.

"Meiko! Get away!" the brown-haired man shouted.

Questioningly, she looked at him before seeing Alphamon firing a green laser at the roof above her. The frame of the roof became brittle and threatened to fall on her and Koromon. Meiko was too perplexed to react at all, while Koromon gritted his teeth. Eventually, she shook her head and threw her partner several feet away, hitting the ground hard.

"MEIKO!," the pink Digimon screamed.


	8. Chapter 8 - Sorrow

Chapter 8 – Sorrow

"MEIKO!," Koromon's voice screamed as he was thrown away by his partner and slapped on the ground.

Immediately the little digimon rose up again and ran to Meiko. She had closed her eyes. Everything went very fast, but in reality it all felt as if time was going to stop. Wildly determined to save her, Koromon raced towards her. He didn't care about anything else. He just wanted to save her. When Koromon started jumping, a light from Meiko's skirt bag shone.

"Koromon digivolve to...", a light formed around the small body of the digimon before it grew larger.

As the light faded away, Koromon's rookie level shouted with a childish voice:

"Hackmon! Fifth rush!"

With his claws, he cut the collapsed roof and saved his partner. Then he landed on the ground with his four feet. Meiko, understandably speechless by the sudden evolution as well as by the fact that Koromon was all the time about Hackmon, remained motionless.

"Is everything okay Meiko?" Hackmon asked anxiously and went to her.

But it still didn't make a sound.

"Hey, is something wrong, Meiko?" he asked again, and yet he received no answer.

Eventually, she was able to get together and embraced the four-footed dragon with relief. Tai joined them and looked at the rookie digimon in disbelief. Hadn't he died? Why was he Meiko's partner now? Questions about questions shot through his head and for a moment he forgot WarGreymon, who was still held on the ground by Alphamon's foot. Then it came to him and he turned to the two ultimate-level-digimon. The black knight still held his foot on the dragon man's chest as he somehow tried to free himself.

/Think about... How can I free WarGreymon from this situation.../, Tai's thoughts revolved around only this one point.

Suddenly, several rockets fired at Alphamon and hurled it at a house. MetalGarurumon, the ultimate-level of Gabumon, and Matt appeared. While the mechanical wolf posed next to WarGreymon, the blonde-haired man went to his friend.

"Izzy called me that Alphamon had turned up," Matt explained.

"You're just getting in time," the brown-haired man smiled at his friend.

"Isn't that Hackmon?" the blond-haired man wondered, looking at the said digimon, who was standing next to Meiko.

"Yes, he is... But..."

"But? Please don't tell me now that he's Meiko's partner."

"Fine... Then I'm not saying it."

A heavy sigh escaped Matt's throat and for a moment he thought Tai was pulling over one, but then he remembered that they just had another problem.

"Omnimon would be good now," said the blonde-haired man, bringing out his Digivice.

"I agree!" cried Tai, pulling out his Digivice.

Immediately, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon began to glow before turning into data that touched each other several times. With each contact, the light became brighter until finally the two data streams became one and a knight-digimon behaved.

He went on two legs, which was completely covered with white armour. Three yellow claws each sat on one foot and gave Omnimon a good hold. A black fabric covered the torso, which was held by a grey zipper. The chest, on the other hand, was protected by white armour with six blue stripes. In the lower part of this armour was a jewel with a golden frame. This looked like the crest of courage and the crest of friendship. The entire left arm up to the shoulder was modelled on that of a Greymon head. On the shoulder itself, Omnimon carried a sign with a sun-like symbol, while in the "mouth" there was a blade with the inscription "Delete everything". The left arm resembled the head of a garurumon. In this "mouth" was a cannon from which Omnimon could unleash a cold energy blast. On this shoulder sat three blue spikes, which did not serve any purpose. Omnimon's head was protected by a white helmet with three spines. One was completely white and sat above the forehead, the other two had a golden colour and its tips pointed backwards. Two sapphire-blue eyes flashed out, showing a mixture of calm and anger. A cape was attached to the knight's neck. This was made of solid material and could withstand some attacks. The inside was in a crimson tone, the outside was white.

"Wow..." Hackmon marvelled when he saw the entire figure of Omnimon.

He himself felt deep admiration for this digimon. His partner had seen this digimon three times and yet she was still impressed by him.

Both ultimate-level-digimon looked into their eyes for a moment. Then, as if a switch had been turned over, the two stormed towards each other. Omnimon had drawn his Grey sword and had erected it in front of his torso. Alphamon himself had conjured up the OwRyuken blade, so that its jaws on the metal parts also became golden wings. When the two weapons collided, they created a pressure wave that damaged some buildings and nearly knocked down the DigiDestined.

/This time we must not let him escape./, Tai thought furiously as he clutched his digivice tightly.

/We have to defeat him!/, Matt also held his digivice tighter in his hand and gritted his teeth slightly.

While the two opponents fought each other bitterly, more and more doubts grew in Omnimon. Should he really do that? But something else also grew up in him. It was the urge of this strange feeling that his rookie levels felt to pursue. The fusion digimon was too preoccupied with his thoughts to really pursue the fight. The opponent took advantage of his carelessness and fired a green laser at his chest. Omnimon landed the ground and remained lying for several seconds. When Alphamon started jumping to chase the OwRyuken blade in him, he turned to the side, so the weapon missed him and now aimed the Garuru cannon at the chest of the black knight. Due to the fact that this did not happen at any distance, Alphamon was thrown away several meters. Both ultimate-level-digimon re-energized each other at the same time and stared at the enemy for several seconds. Then the black knight began to laugh darkly.

"Only the absolute will of King Drasil counts," Alphamon said after he stopped laughing.

"If you believe that King Drasil's will is absolute, then you are a fool, Alphamon," Omnimon explained.

The DigiDestined were terrified, because they had rarely seen Omnimon speak anything.

"Continuing this conversation is pointless, Omnimon," the black knight said.

"For once I agree with you, Alphamon," the merged Digimon agreed.

The two knight-digimon crossed their weapons, creating another dust cloud. Alphamon hurled Omnimon to the ground with a targeted kick into the pit of the stomach. However, he had already fired an energy jet from his Garuru cannon when he fell. The black knight dodged it as the fusion digimon rose. Just as Omnimon was about to pull the Grey blade, two more people appeared on the battlefield, Akira and her partner, Wanyamon.

"Wanyamon warp-digivolve to... Dynasmon! Dragon's Roar!", Dynasmon fired two energy beams on Alphamon.

"You are!" Tai said, astonished.

"Akira!" shouted Meiko and ran to her.

"Do you know her?" asked Matt.

"She's in my class!" the brown-haired man explained.

Dynasmon briefly took a look at his partner before turning to the black knight.

"That's how we see each other again..." he growled: "It's a long time, hasn't it, Alphamon? How much time passed? 10,000 years?"

Alphamon decided not to answer. Instead, he fired a green energy laser at Dynasmon. He countered with a red laser, causing a huge explosion. As the explosion fog was forming, Omnimon rushed in and attacked the black knight. He dodged and jumped several meters to safety, then fired two energy beams at the ultimate-level-digimon. As Dynasmon flew into the air and there began to gather energy, the merged Digimon jumped to the side and crossed arms again with the black knight. However, he managed to carry him into the air through a skilful swing of the weapon.

"Now!" exclaimed Omnimon.

"Breath of Wyvern!" Dynasmon summoned a wyvern that collided with Alphamon.

He was thrown to the ground.

Another digimon also attacked him and wounded him on the shoulder.

Alphamon was forced to his knees by the two attacks. With angry eyes, he looked at everyone. But then they were reflecting amusement. Several data particles emerged from the wound of the shoulder.

"Do you seriously believe that I will lose against you?" he quit as he stretched out his two arms forward, revealing the jewels in his palms. These began to pulsate reddish.

"You're not going to do that!" growled Dynasmon, rushing toward him.

But space and time are already bent. Just as Akira's partner reached him, time was turned back to the point where Dynasmon attacked him. This time, however, Alphamon knew how it would work, and so he created a distortion behind him, which led to an intermediate dimension. With a powerful beating of his wings, he flew backwards into the distortion and disappeared. The wyvern missed it as well as the energy beam of the foreign digimon. Both attacks collided with a building that collapsed.

"He escaped again," Tai raved as he watched Omnimon.

He was shrouded in a light and then divided into two figures. Koromon and Tsunomon lay together exhausted and kept their eyes closed. The fight had demanded a lot from them. Eventually, Dynasmon landed on the ground and digivolve back to Wanyamon, which was then lifted up by Akira.

"You... Are a DigiDestined?" said Tai, astonished, after he had gone to her.

"Yes," she confirmed, looking at her partner.

"I could have defeat him..." he said, "But then he would certainly have used his special ability."

"His special ability?" matt repeated.

"Alpha inForce. He would have turned back the time and then he would have fled," Wanyamon said, snarling.

"At least you're fine," Meiko said.

"We don't need your concern," the in-training digimon replied.

"Hey, she's just worried about you!" shouted Hackmon.

"By the way, worry," the brown-haired man began, looking at a strange digimon standing on the roof.

From a hallway, a middle-aged man clapped into his hands.

"Bravo, bravo. You really are DigiDestined," said the man, pulling his glasses a little higher on the root of his nose with his left index finger.

"Who are you?!" Wanyamon asked angrily.

"My name is Doc Kato Azuma. I'm a scientist and I wanted to see what my Gizmon can do," he imagined.

"Gizmon?" Hackmon repeated.

"He means the digimon on the roof," his partner explained.

"This digimon kills other digimon without being reborn!" growled Akira's partner.

"What?!" all the DigiDestined and the four-footed dragon said.

"I was actually going to negotiate with you," Kato said.

"You can't negotiate with me!" Wanyamon raved: "The Homeostasis has informed me about… about this machine!"

"Whatever," he snapped and several people in black suits appeared.

Koromon and Tsunomon hopped to their partners and looked at them with indistinct eyes.

"You have no chance to escape," Doc Azuma smiled: "Be good kids and come with me."

"As if I were going to leave that!" the in-training digimon growled.

Among the group appeared a distortion, which immediately swallowed them. The group fell through the intermediate dimension before a further distortion opened up under them, which led to the digital world. However, they landed in the middle of the air. So they kept falling. Tai and Matt held their partners tightly and closed their eyes.

"Wanyamon! Warp digivolve! Now!" Akira shouted, panicked.

"Can... Not... Have... No... More... Energy...", he panted.

"Hackmon digivolve to... BaoHackmon!" cried Meiko's partner.

Full of hope, Matt opened his eyes and saw a four-footed dragon whose hind legs were deformed into blades. The tip of the tail already showed a red sword, which looked as if it consisted of energy. The black horn on the muzzle was directed diagonally forward. Now he was twice the size of his rookie level.

"Can you fly?" the blonde-haired man asked.

"... No..." replied BaoHackmon.

"You're so useless!" shouted Akira.

"At least he digivolved..." Tai tried to appease the situation: "Digivolved to his... adult-level?"

Everyone closed their eyes again and saw their end. They all touched the branches of trees and fell uncomfortably to the ground.

"Ow!" complained BaoHackmon.

"Somehow... We... survived?" said Meiko, reopening her eyes.

She saw many branches above her while she felt something beneath her.

"Could you go down from me, Meiko?" the four-footed dragon asked her.

"Sorry," the black-haired woman replied, walking down from him. BaoHackmon straightened up and shook briefly.

Next to him was Wanyamon, who was the only one who had lost consciousness. Tai and Matt also opened their eyes and saw their partner's digimon lying next to them. Both wondered why they had survived the fall. The two friends looked at each other tacitly before they heard a call for help.

"Help!" Akira exclaimed, "Get me down here!"

Wanyamon's partner sat on a tree and clutched his trunk. The group looked up at her.

"Are you afraid of heights?" asked BaoHackmon.

"Yes..." she confirmed: "And now get me down here!"

"Don't worry!" said Tai: "As soon as Koromon or Tsunomon have enough energy again, one of them can get you down!"

"And how long will it take?!" she asked.

"A good half day," Matt said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Akira cried.

"Calm down, Akira. Okay?" said Meiko.

"How am I supposed to be able to calm down?!"

Suddenly the branch she had been sitting on broke and she fell on Tai. Moaning, she rose again and was glad that she again had firm ground under her feet. BaoHackmon, meanwhile, returned to Hackmon, drawing almost all attention.

"If you're going to digivolve next time, please don't do it in the air," the blonde-haired man said to the four-footed dragon.

"Sorry," he said, "I just thought I'd get wings if I digivolve..."

"Wanyamon!" Akira shouted, raising him, "Are you alright, Wanyamon?!"

" He's just unconscious," Tai said, approaching her.

She breathed a relieved breath, but then became angry because she had worried about her partner.

"Where are we here?!" was her irritated question.

"Probably in the digital world," Tsunomon explained.

"Not again! I was only here... And how did we get here?!"

"By Wanyamon," Koromon replied, "He had created a distortion."

All then remained silent until Tai said again:

"We should go... Maybe we'll meet one of our friends..."

"Who exactly do you mean?" asked Meiko.

"Friends we made in the digital world!" cried Koromon.

"Elecmon, Ogremon, Andromon, Whamon, Frigimon, Meramon, Centarumon, Piximon, Unimon, Mojyamon, Gotsumon, Sukamon and Chuumon," Tsunomon said.

"Or a few DigiDestined," Matt said.

"But if we stay here, we won't meet anyone, will we?" asked Hackmon.

"You're right!" the brown-haired man confirmed: "Let's go!"

So the group set out and hoped that they would meet some old friends again. After a while, however, they took a break. Completely exhausted by the walking, they sat down. Meiko and Hackmon, however, left a short time later and collected wood for a small fire. Meanwhile, Akira observed Wanyamon, who was still not conscious. Slowly she worried about him. She just didn't want to show it to anyone and looked up to the sky. The stars sparkled reassuringly on the group. Eventually Meiko came back with a bundle of wood. Next to her walked the four-footed dragon. He himself had pulled his hood over his head. He didn't want to tell anyone why he did. The black-haired woman put the wood to a stack. Two smaller branches, however, she put aside so that she could make the fire.

"You're making it far too complicated, Meiko," Hackmon said, "Baby Flame!"

The four-footed dragon spit fire out of his mouth and ignited the wood. His partner smiled at him and threw the two small branches to the fire. Then she sat down. Hackmon immediately joined her and lay down next to her on the floor.

"How do we get back to the real world now?" asked Matt.

"I don't have an idea," Tai said, sighing.

"Hm...", Akira closed her eyes: "When Wanyamon is back to consciousness, he can certainly bring us back."

"You worry about him, aren't you?" was Meiko's question.

'I'm not worried about him! Okay?!" she cried.

"You're worried about him," said the brown-haired man.

"Why should I worry about Wanyamon?" asked Akira angrily.

"Because he's your friend," Matt replied.

"Friend..." Wanyamon's partner muttered, "I don't have any friends!"

"Wanyamon is your friend," Tai explained.

She remained silent and looked at the in-training digimon lying in her arms as if he were going to sleep. But in truth he was unconscious and did not move.

"Why do you think you don't have friends?" the blonde-haired man finally asked.

"I'll tell you another time," she quit, trying to suppress that memory with all her strength.

"Come on," Meiko encouraged her: "Tell us what happened. If you just don't talk about it, you won't have any friends."

Again she was silent, but then she began to tell:

"I lived in America with my sister and her boyfriend for a while. I had friends there and was happy. But through Shin's work we had to go back..." she paused for a short break, as if to tell something terrible, but then her voice became snippy: "That's it! The Japanese are so weird."

"Honestly, Akira... I don't believe you," Tai said, "there's something you don't want to talk about."

"But I don't want to tell you," she said: "And now leave me alone."

She laid Wanyamon on the floor before laying down herself. Then she turned her back on the group and remained silent. The brown-haired man sighed heavily.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay," Matt said, kneeling down to her.

"I said, leave me alone," Akira raved.

"Your feelings are transferred to your partner... If this continues, his ultimate-level will eventually be weaker than an adult-digimon," the blonde-haired man explained.

"And?" she said indifferently, "I can't do anything for having such feelings."

"Sure. But! Digimon are very sensitive to human emotions."

"What do you want to go for? Shall I tell you what happened then?'

"That's up to you. I'm just saying that Tai once got Koromon to do a black digitation because he had forced him to digivolve. I myself was once in an internal conflict. This did not allow Tsunomon to digivolve... I was once jealous of Tai because he has a very good connection with my younger brother. After all, we have even fought. It was only through the Homeostasis' intervention that the fight could be ended. Do you understand what I mean? Your feelings make your partner weaker."

"That's why..." she muttered to herself: "That's why he couldn't defeat an perfect-digimon... Because I had an inner conflict..."

"This conflict..." Tai began.

"It's over now," Akira interrupted him.

"But something oppresses you," Meiko said, putting her hand on Hackmon's body.

He looked at her calmly before he snuggled closer to her and closed his eyes.

"Maybe one day... Maybe I'll tell you," she said, closing her eyes: "But... I will think about your words..."

With her arm, she pulled Wanyamon to herself and eventually fell asleep. The others chatted a bit until they also lay down.

"Meiko..." the four-footed dragon muttered after a while.

"Yes?" she turned around and looked into his eyes.

"I can't sleep."

"I don't either..."

"The death of Meicoomon is depressing you, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"Do you want her to live again?" he asked.

"No... Meicoomon has suffered a lot. It's better for her when she's no longer alive... She never wanted to hurt others... But her anger and fear drove her mad..."

"I just wonder why I became your partner..." said Hackmon, depressed.

"I don't know, Hackmon..."

"And I also feel that I can never be like Meicoomon..."

"You and Meicoomon... you are not the same digimon... You're different from her."

'I didn't want to talk about it... I just think you like me less than Meicoomon."

"That's not true," she replied.

"What makes you so sure?"

"You were the one who comforted me when I was sad because of Meicoomon."

"And you are the one who cannot get over her death!" he gritted his teeth with angrily: "I will never find a place in your heart, Meiko... This place belongs to Meicoomon."

The four-footed dragon rose up and looked to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked concerned.

"I... can't keep the promise that I can be with you forever, Meiko.", his words were heavy: "I will never be able to replace your partner. And I feel like I should never become your partner."

"Hackmon..."

"Since I've reached my rookie level, I feel like you don't need me."

"I think it was because of Matt's talk about human emotions.."

"No..."

"Yes... You're afraid that you can't protect me, right?"

"Yes... That's why I don't want to be your partner anymore. I'm afraid I can't protect you if I have to," he admitted.

"You know... Meicoomon was always afraid of it. She didn't want me to get hurt. But unlike her, you can protect me," she smiled at him.

"I can't protect you."

Meiko stubbed his muzzle with her finger and laughed softly:

'You're scared because you wanted to protect me. And you were able to protect me. Without you, I would be dead now. You protected me from the collapsing roof. So stop thinking about it."

"Okay..." Hackmon replied, and lay down before closing his eyes again: "Sorry, Meiko."

"It's okay... Everyone has their worries," she said, and also lay down again.

Moments later, however, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Is everything okay, Meiko?" asked Tai.

"Yes..." she replied.

"Do you want to talk?"

She nodded briefly and walked away from the group with the brown-haired man. They finally stopped at a clearing. In the meantime, there were hardly any stars in the sky and soon the sun would rise again.

"Do you thought of Meicoomon?" was Tai's question.

"Yes..." she looked to the ground: "But also I thought about Hackmon."

"I listened to your conversation."

"I'm sorry we were so loud..."

"You weren't," he shook his head.

Meiko closed her eyes before tears broke out.

"Sorry," she cried, trying to wipe away the liquid.

"What for?" the brown-haired man asked.

"I'm just a millstone around the neck... I should have fled when Alphamon attacked us. Instead, I just stayed there and nearly died."

" But you didn't want to leave us alone."

"Yes..."

Tai stroked his hand over his hair and looked briefly into the distance.

"It's good that you entrust yourself to Hackmon... He seems to like you a lot," he said.

"Despite this, he thinks that I-"

"Hackmon has a place in your heart. I just know that."

She remained silent for a while before snuggling up to him and putting her forehead against his chest.

"Thank you, Tai," she said.

He smiled and stroked her hair without really noticing it. It wasn't until he put his hand on her back that he noticed. He was a little frightened, but it wasn't noticeable. After a while, the black-haired woman separated from him and looked at him.

"We should go back," Tai said, moving.

"Yes.," she nodded to him: "Uhm... Tai?"

He turned to her.

"Yes?" his head tilted slightly to the side.

"I... No, forget it," she walked past him with red cheeks.

He looked at her long, black hair, but decided not to ask. Still... Tai cursed himself that he hadn't told her.


	9. Chapter 9 - Argument

Chapter 9 – Argument

The group wandered through the Digiwelt for a while. Disoriented, by the way. They didn't know where what was when they restarted a year ago. Because the digital world had changed a lot. Where Gekomon's castle once stood, there was now an amusement park. So they wandered around for a while until they saw a well-known place.

"A playground?" asked Akira suspiciously.

"No... That's…," Matt began.

"Primary Village! Finally a well-known place!" cried Tai with delight.

"Finally we see a well-known digimon!" said Agumon.

"I'm looking forward to Elecmon," Gabumon said.

"Shut up!" wrought Wanyamon.

"Wanyamon!" his partner said, pressing him closer to her: "Man... You're finally awake again!"

"I'm certainly awake because of your volume," he complained.

"Hey. Akira was very worried about you," Hackmon said.

"Who cares! I didn't ask for Akira to worry about me!"

Akira looked to the side and bit her lower lip. Wanyamon still insulted her wherever he could. If this were to continue, then... She shook her head. There was nothing to worry about. Tai and Koromon simply kept going, so the others started to move again. A few minutes later, they all reached a large playing surface, where several baby digimon romped around. Hackmon waved his tail excitedly and immediately ran to the digimon. At first they reacted in shock, but then they started playing with him. Meiko smiled. She joined them and just enjoyed doing it.

"Tai!" cried Koromon.

"Yes?" he looked at him.

"I'm going to play!" the pink digimon also hopped to the others.

"Have fun," said the brown-haired man, sitting down.

Matt also sat down, while Tsunomon spread himself beside him. Akira watched the two a bit before she went away tacitly and biting on her lower lip. Her partner just crouched there and didn't pay attention to her. In his mind, he cursed that Akira was worried about him. No one should worry about him. It would just hurt his pride.

"Why do you insult Akira all the time?" Matt suddenly asked him.

"Why should I answer you?"

"She looks very hurt... That's all."

"Akira insults me all the time, that's why!" he growled, turning away from him.

"And that's why you're not going to get stronger!" exclaimed Tsunomon.

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Each one affects others to reach the next shape! That's what King Drasil once said! You are not alone! But when you shield yourself from others, it's no wonder if you're so weak."

"Me and weak?!" he laughed dryly: "I'm older than you. I'm stronger than you. I could even digivolve without my partner. So don't call me weak!"

"Humans give digimon something specific," Tai began, looking at Koromon, who was playing with a Pichimon: "If you want to protect someone, you're going to get stronger."

"And? I want to protect the whole digital world!" the in-training digimon raved.

"The whole digital world?!" Matt repeated, his eyes widened.

'That's why I live. I have sworn to protect the digital world. Even if it will cost my life! And I don't need any comrades for that! We would just argue!"

"Why do you think so?" asked Tsunomon.

"Because it's the truth! And at some point, the argument will escalate, so you want to slaughter each other. That's the way, no different."

"It almost sounds like the one legend Izzy had told about," the blonde-haired man said.

" What was it like again?"

"_Thirteen knights, once blessed, protected the world._

_Thirteen knights, once proud, fell into an argument_," Tsunomon said.

"And I'm one of those knights," Wanyamon said.

"One of the thirteen knights... Who are the others?" the brown-haired man asked.

"Hm..." he closed his eyes to think better.

He was silent for quite a while.

"Don't you know it anymore?" was Tai's question.

'It's not... My memories are very blurred by the reboot," Wanyamon raged angrily: "I can only remember two names correctly. Gallantmon and Alphamon."

"So now we know three digimon of thirteen..." said Matt, sighing.

"That's what it looks like," Tsunomon said.

In this moment a digimon came. He seemed very pleased to see the three and smiled kindly at them.

"I haven't seen you for a while," Elecmon greeted her, "How are you?"

"Very good," Tai replied, "And you?"

"I have my hands full with the babies... However, a few days ago, one thing escaped me. A Botamon, pretty naughty."

"Hm... Koromon! Meiko! Hackmon!" the brown-haired man shouted: "Please come here!"

Those people immediately responded to the call and rushed to the rest of the group.

"What's going on, Tai? Is there anything to eat?" asked Koromon.

"No... Elecmon misses one of the babies... It's a Botamon."

"So I haven't seen a Botamon in a while..."

"I think I'm the Botamon," Hackmon replied shyly.

"What?! Where were you?! Do you know how dangerous it is outside the city?!" Elecmon yelled at him.

"Yes..." he bent his head down: "But I wanted to explore the world and not stay in a basket."

"I would have let you leave if you digivolve to your in-training level!"

"It happened shortly after I fled," he smiled: "After I met Meiko and became her partner."

"How is your name?"

"Hackmon."

"I've seen a Hackmon before... He was very incensed. Basically just like you. But I digress. Matt, how are T.K. and Patamon doing?"

"They're fine," the person said.

Relieved, Elecmon sighed before continuing:

"I feel a bit bad because I didn't recognize T.K. after the reboot."

"We did the same," Tsunomon said.

"We couldn't recognize our partners," Koromon said.

"You make it sound like he had a partner," Matt's partner said.

"It doesn't matter now," Elecmon laughed: "Everyone has their memories back. But..."

He looked to the side as if something was moving him.

"But?" Meiko repeated.

"It's like something else has returned to me... I can't quite explain it either," a long sigh escaped his mouth.

"Hm... But that's really weird now." Hackmon put his head slightly aside.

"Weird? Who's weird here, you are," Wanyamon grumbled.

"But you have an unstable personality," said the blonde-haired man.

"Do you want me to bite you?" the in-training digimon threatened.

"He meant that you get very angry very quickly," Tai said.

"I'm not getting angry!" wnarled Wanyamon.

"But there's one more thing..." Elecmon began.

"And that would be?" asked Tsunomon.

"I can suddenly digivolve to the ultimate-level without being able to digivolve to the adult or perfect-level before."

"If Izzy were here, he would certainly have an idea what's going on with you..." Tai sighed.

"Probably..."

"But he's not here!" cried Koromon.

Wanyamon exhaled slowly. He was annoyed because of the complication about this conversation. He hopped away. A short time later, he met Akira again, who sat on a stone and stared into the distance. When she heard her partner, she got up and looked at him angrily. Then, without losing another word, she went deeper into Primary Village.

"Am I really getting angry so quickly?" the in-training digimon wondered before he rushed after her.

"Akira!" he shouted.

She stopped and clenched her hands to fists.

"What do you want?" was her question.

"Don't get so far away from the others."

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself..." she replied pointedly.

"I didn't mean that..."

"What do you mean then?"

"The others would worry about you if you just left."

"And? I don't let others to order me around."

"It's the same with me, but sometimes you have to bend."

"You are the one who was angry because I was worried about you," she hissed.

"Akira..."

"Why..." her anger had suddenly faded.

The tone, however, sounded threatening, eerie.

"Akira?" Wanyamon looked at her inquiringly.

"Why was I chosen, Wanyamon?" she gritted her teeth.

"I... don't know..."

"I don't want to be a DigiDestined... Why me? Why my sister and her boyfriend? Why were we chosen? That makes no sense! We were chosen. Why?"

"Why are you asking that? Just accept your destiny."

"That's not possible! I learned from Sera that she had great difficulties with her foster family. Shin himself had problems with his brother... And I am constantly arguing with my sister and her boyfriend... So why were we chosen? We are from difficult circumstances and yet we were chosen."

"I don't have an answer for that, Akira... But I know one thing. You are my partner..."

"Yes, yes. Says the one-"

"Shut up!" he interrupted her: "Where was I? Ah, yes. You are my partner. Believe me. In the beginning, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having someone to tell me what to do. But you're not like that... You don't tell me what to do... It was just a prejudice... Akira... I know that we both have problems to keep our temperament under control, but that doesn't mean we're not trying to understand each other."

"Wanyamon...", she closed her eyes briefly: "I know..."

"Really?" he sounded astonished.

"Yes. We're both stubborn, aren't we?"

"That's probably true..." he agreed.

Akira sat on a tree stump before her partner hopped into her lap and he looked at her.

"Akira... I want to promise you something," he began.

"And what?" she looked at him curiously.

"I promise that I will be absolutely loyal to you."

"What? Hey, don't be stupid."

"I'm not! When I respect someone, I swear my loyalty to it... That's just how I am."

"You don't have to promise me anything, Wanyamon... We are..." she broke off.

"We are?" the in-training Digimon repeated.

"Friends?" she pondered briefly, before nodding resolutely: "Yes, we are friends."

Wanyamon smiled at the words and closed his eyes.

"Akira?" a voice suddenly asked.

Immediately the eyes of the in-training digimon opened and he stared furiously at the person. But then he calmed down because it was "just" Matt. He seemed slightly concerned.

"Matt..." she said.

"You just went off like that... Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes. " she nodded, "Me and Wanyamon only had a conversation."

"Only..." her partner replied slightly snarling.

"We should go back to the others... Tai had promised Elecmon that we would take care of the babies a little bit," the blonde-haired man explained: "Or rather that me and Meiko take care of them while the others play with the babies."

"Caring and playing is the same thing, isn't it?" she asked.

"No. The babies want to eat all the time and you have to clean their basket..."

"Okay. Then I help."

"Me too! Maybe...", the in-training digimon interrupted: /Maybe I find her./

"Maybe?", Akira looked at him inquiringly.

"Nothing. So, let's take care of the babies," Wanyamon said.

The three went back to the others and immediately they started to take care of them or play with them. In the evening everyone was exhausted. The babies were now asleep. A little remotely, the group had set up a small campfire. Quietly, they talked about any issues that didn't matter too much. Hackmon himself slept, cuddled close to Meiko's side and pulled his hood over his ears. Eventually, the others slept. Only Tsunomon, who was now back at his rookie level, was awake. He himself felt this feeling from a few days ago more than ever. Sighing, he looked to the forest. The reptile digimon turned around and looked at Matt's sleeping face. The face was expressionless and yet he seemed satisfied.

"You're still awake, aren't you?" asked Agumon.

"Yes. I am...", he sighed, and straightened up.

"You're just as concerned about that feeling, right?"

"Exactly... Now more than ever I want to pursue this feeling..."

"We are in the digital world... And Tai and Matt are also there... If we move away from them and then try again, maybe it will work."

"I hope it works," Gabumon said.

"It's going to work," the yellow dinosaur encouraged him.

The reptile digimon nodded again before the two of them left the group. They stopped in the forest and looked at each other.

"Agumon warp-digivolve to-"

"Gabumon warp-digivolve to-"

A bright light formed around the two and increased them by a lot.

"WarGreymon!" shouted Agumon's ultimate-level.

"MetalGarurumon!" said Gabumon's ultimate-level.

"Great! It worked!" said WarGreymon with delight.

"Good. Then we fusion to Omnimon and go after the feeling," MetalGarurumon said.

"I think we can do this without our partners..."

"What makes you so sure? As far as I can remember, we could only digitize omnimon with the help of our partners."

"But back then it's not now. The last time we became Omnimon, we talked more than just our name and the attacks, right?"

"Yes... But-"

"No But, MetalGarurumon. We're trying now!"

"Good... Grah! MetalGarurumon!"

"WarGreymon!"

"DNA digivolve to..." both shouted unison: "Omnimon!"

The fused digimon sighed relieved after the fusion. It worked. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were now merged into Omnimon. The strength of two powerful mega-Digimon combines in a super-mega. The sapphire-blue eyes of the fusion digimon once again took a quick look at the opened camp. Then he rose into the air and flew aimlessly through the area for a while before he stopped on a bare plain. Omnimon didn't know why, but he wanted to draw his sword and cause a distortion. So he drew his Grey sword out of the protector and swung it from left to right. Immediately a distortion opened in front of him and he walked through with slow steps. At first, he hardly saw anything, but that did not prevent him from going any further. But then he recognized a digimon, which seemed very familiar to him. The digimon himself talked to someone. But he didn't know who he was.

"Yes." the digimon agreed: "It really seems that no one had heard the call, Homeostasis..."

"_No_," the Homeostasis replied, "_Turn around, Gallantmon_."

That said Digimon took a quick look over his shoulder and recognized Omnimon.

"Omnimon..." he breathed.

Joy swung along in his voice, but also astonishment.

"Who... are you?" asked the fused Digimon.

"So you can't remember it," Gallantmon sighed, looking down at the ground.

"_But at least he received our call..._" said the God: "_We will enlighten you_."

With this, the Homeostasis began to tell him a lot. Omnimon himself listened anxiously, and with each sentence he realized more and more who he was, what he had done, and what he had to do. As the fusion Digimon noted, Gallantmon was the current messenger of Homeostasis and thus also a close ally of him and the DigiDestined.

"_We want you to keep it secret from your partners and their friends, Omnimon_," the God concluded: "_King Drasil must not, by any means, learn that we want to summon you together again. For we fear that he will pursue the same goal as us and that it will regroup, so that they will then destroy the people_."

"Understood... Whatever the others decide... I will be on your side, Homeostasis. But if I may ask, who is still on our side?" asked Omnimon.

"Me..." Gallantmon began: "As well as Dynasmon... More has not yet followed the call."

The fused Digimon closed his eyes and then sighed resignedly.

"So three," Omnimon said: "Why Dynasmon? He has always been very loyal to him..."

"Dynasmon had said that he had changed and that he had no desire for a reboot," Gallantmon said,

"_And there are four_," the Homeostasis said.

"However, he can only digivolve to the adult level... It will be a while before he reaches his ultimate-level," the fused Digimon said, reopening his eyelids.

"_It all depends on his partner Meiko Mochizuki. Each property influences others to reach the next form_..."

"We already know that, Homeostasis... But how can those manage to digivolve to their perfect-level when there is no medium in the form of crests?"

"We are thinking of making new ones for Meiko and three others," the white knight explained, arms entwining in front of his chest.

"And what is their strongest traits?" asked the fused Digimon.

"Strength, kindness, honesty and justice," the God replied.

"Could the other three carriers of the crests-," Omnimon began.

"_We will not comment on the carriers_," the Homeostasis interrupted him: "_For their safety_."

"Understood... You want me to be silent about it, don't you?"

"_You get it, Omnimon_."

"Good... If you would excuse me. I want to go back to my partners," the fused Digimon said: "But I would like to ask you something. It was you who sent the message to Izzy, right? The message, where it was said that in order to get new powers, one must overcome the darkness."

"_Exactly. It was a plan of ours that the digimon should finally digivolve to their ultimate-level... For they should have done so before the fight against Apocalymon. But this did not happen_."

"I see..." he closed his eyes: "Okay. I'll go. Tai and Matt will wake up soon and I don't want them to worry."

With this Omnimon left the two and rushed back to Primary Village. He did not reached the village in question until the sun rose - shortly before he reached the city, however, he digivolve back to Agumon and Gabumon. Luckily, everyone was still asleep, so their absence was not noticeable to anyone. Right?

No. Elecmon had been awake all the time and had noticed the departure of the two rookie digimon. Now the Guardian of Primary Village approached them.

"Where were you two?" was his question.

"We were..." began Gabumon.

"We wanted to walk" exclaimed Agumon.

Elecmon looked at them. He did not believe in the words. They had been somewhere else, he knew that. Why did he know that? He could already imagine that the two were very special digimon.

"Were you meeting the Homeostasis?" asked Elecmon, though this sounded more like a guess than a question.

Both were terrified. How did the village's guardian know the god of the digital world? Neither had an explanation. So they kept silent and looked at Elecmon. He stared back but didn't say a word.

"I will not follow its call," the guardian finally said, "I don't want to have anything to do with it."

"I don't quite understand, Elecmon," said the reptile digimon.

"If you're interested, I was one of them..."

"Ah..." it escaped the yellow dinosaur: "And who exactly are you?"

"Duftmon. But I don't care who I was or who I am. My job is to protect Primary Village. King Drasil... The Homeostasis. Stability... Harmony. They don't know a bloody thing about me," Elecmon said angrily.

"Why?" asked Agumon.

"Because I never want to have anything to do with them again," the Guardian concluded, "And I want to be left alone."

"We understand that," Gabumon said.

"Thank you, you two," Elecmon said, before hearing a baby digimon start screaming, "Yes, yes. I'm coming"

So he rushed to the screaming digimon. Meanwhile, Tai yawned extensively and stretched. Then he looked to Agumon.

"Hm?" the brown-haired man said: "You're already awake, Agumon?"

Again, he yawned. He held his right hand in front of his mouth while his eyes closed. Somehow it was weird. After all, the yellow dinosaur was always the one who slept for a very long time and was difficult to wake up.

"Yes," he replied succinctly.

Tai immediately noticed that something was wrong with his partner. Normally, Agumon would say far more. But somehow he felt he shouldn't ask any further. Why he had that feeling. He knew Agumon better than anyone else. He knew when his partner would want to hide something. That's why he always left him alone, even though his own curiosity drove him to ask.

The brown-haired man tilted his head slightly to the side before his gaze wandered towards Meiko. She was still asleep but had put an arm around Hackmon. He snorted slightly but seem like he wanted the touch. The four-footed dragon enjoyed it very much. Tai even believed that Hackmon smiled slightly. But then he moved so that his hood was directly under the nose of his partner. Meiko's face was a little wary before she had to sneeze and wake up. The natural reaction also made Hackmon awake.

"How? What? Are we being attacked?" he asked, confused, looking through the area before his gaze Meiko rested.

"Sorry," she replied, "I had to sneeze."

"Okay..." said the four-footed dragon and straightened up.

Then he smiled at the black-haired man.

"Can you be any louder?" complained Akira, who woke up by the conversation between the two.

Wanyamon was also ripped out of his sleep. Now he stared angrily at the two.

"Could it be any louder?" the in-training digimon asked, irritated: "I dreamed beautifully."

"Sorry," Meiko said, looking to the ground in shame.

"You don't have to apologize, Meiko," Hackmon said, "They're just jealous because we get along so well."  
"We are not!" Akira and Wanyamon shouted at the same time.

Now Matt also woke up. Yawning, he got up and stretched.

"Morning," he yawned, "We should move on soon."

"We just got up," Akira complained.

"Despite that. We can also wake up if we are moving. Of course we can also ride on our digimon," the blonde-haired man suggested: "Gabumon!"

"I'm still exhausted because I fused with Agumon," the reptile digimon apologized.

"We don't need Omnimon. We just need Garurumon and Hackmon's adult level."

"I'm still too exhausted."

"But that can't be the case. It's been two days since you fused with Agumon, Gabumon. You would have enough strength."

"But I haven't. Maybe it's because we took care of the babies."

"Besides," Agumon interjected: "When we become Omnimon, we use a lot of power and energy."

Elecmon came back and just listened. The others didn't even notice him.

"However, we can now hold it longer than the first time," the reptile digimon said.

"That's nice. If at some point we run into Alphamon, you can protect us," Tai said, smiling.

"Exactly!" Meiko agreed.

Both the yellow dinosaur and Gabumon shrugged slightly. Suddenly, Elecmon began to laugh out loud.

"Hahahaha... You really want to defeat Alphamon?" he laughed: "Even if you seriously hurt him, he would use his special Alpha inForce ability, which would turn back time. After that, the fight will be such that he can win. So good luck defeating him."

"How can you prevent this?" asked Meiko.

"By using OC Generics. Alpha inForce and OC Generics switch off each other," the guardian explained.

"And what exactly is OC Generics for?" was Hackmon's question.

"This allows the user to overwrite his data and adapt it to the opponent. Then his power is doubled so that he can defeat his opponent. The power itself is coupled with that of the opponent," Elecmon continued the explanation.

"And how does this ability fix Alpha inForce?" asked Matt.

"By becoming active, OC Generics allows the user to adapt to Alpha inForce. However, this ability is associated with time, causing OC Genercis to expire. At the same time, the use of Alpha inForce is also prevented," the guardian said.

"So far so good. But who owns OC Generics?" was Akira's question.

"Jesmon," Wanyamon replied.

"And who is that?" his partner asked.

"Someone who had worked for the Homeostasis but was killed by Alphamon," Tai said.

"He's been reborn," Matt said, looking at Hackmon.

"Wait! I am the one who can stop Alphamon?!" the four-footed dragon shouted in shock.

"Yes," Agumon confirmed, "At that time you fought with us against Alphamon."

"I can't remember," Hackmon looked down on the ground.

"At some point, though, you'll go back to Jesmon and then we can defeat and destroy Alphamon once and for all!" raved Gabumon.

Matt himself was shocked by the statement of his partner digimon. He had never spoken so rabidly.

"As long as you kill him in the real world, it's good," Elecmon said, "He can't be reborn by his death in the real world."

/Then that means…/,"Meiko thought: /That Meicoomon and Leomon can't be reborn./

Immediately tears formed in her eyes, but she refused to cry. It wouldn't be good if she cried. She would only become a burden again. And she didn't want that.

"However," said the yellow dinosaur: "If you, Hackmon, can digivolve back to your ultimate-level, then we will destroy Alphamon!"

"Agumon!" Tai exclaimed in horror: "He is Gennai!"

"And? He is our enemy!"

"That's already... But there must be a reason why Gennai is suddenly evil."

"There is no reason!"

"There is one, Agumon! If we know the reason, we may be able to save Gennai or Alphamon!"

"Do you really think there's a reason Alphamon is evil?"

"Yes!"

"Then you're a fool, Tai! A complete fool! Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the stability and harmony of both worlds... No! For all worlds! Gabumon believes so!"

"Agumon!" exclaimed Tai angrily.

"STOP!," Meiko suddenly screamed.

The brown-haired man shrugged at her reaction. He had never seen Meiko get angry. Tai looked at her and realized she was crying.

"What's wrong with you, Agumon, Gabumon? You're not like that," she was still screaming: "Otherwise you'll never argue with your partners. Why all of a time?"

"Meiko..." said the brown-haired man, before quietly apologizing.

"I'm sorry too," Agumon said.

"Not me," Gabumon said, "Alphamon is a fool. To let someone like him run free would mean the end of the digital world. Tai, Matt, Agumon. Have you forgotten the battles against Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, the Dark Master's, and Apocalymon? They were all evil, and if we had left them alive, they would have destroyed both worlds."

"Gabumon is right... I should not have been so surprised by his words. He speaks from experience," Matt agreed: "What would happen if we left Alphamon alive? We don't know, but he certainly plans to destroy our world together with King Drasil."

"If this happens, the digital world would also be destroyed," Wanyamon said: "Both worlds support each other. If one world is destroyed, the other will also be destroyed. That is why I agree with Gabumon. We must kill Alphamon and then defeat King Drasil. There is no point that the Homeostasis shut him down. He could easily restart the digital world and try again to destroy the human world."

"I don't know Alphamon, but-" Akira began: "But he seems to be a big danger along with King Drasil. That is why we should really destroy both. For if anyone wants to destroy the world, we must destroy him. That's my justice."

"Mine too," the in-training digimon agreed.

"That's-," Meiko broke off as Tai grabbed her by the hand.

"We have to try to pull Alphamon back on our side!" the brown-haired man shouted.

"Exactly. He will be a great help in the fight against King Drasil!" said Agumon: "That is why we must not destroy him!"

"Death is not a solution!" said Hackmon: "There has to be another way!"

"But there is no such thing," Gabumon said.

"If that's the case, you're not my friends!" the four-footed dragon shouted.

"Fine! Then we go our own way. What do you mean to Matt?" Akira asked him.

"Yes. I think that's the best way," Matt agreed, "We're going to destroy Alphamon. If you want to save him, do it. But don't apologize later if you couldn't save him!"

"Fine, Matt... Then go! We certainly don't need Omnimon to save Alphamon!" replied Tai ironically.

The blonde-haired man wanted to hit his friend for the statement, but he knew it would only exacerbate the situation. So he turned his back on Tai, Agumon, Meiko and Hackmon and began to move. Gabumon followed him tacitly before Akira and Wanyamon also set in motion. Meanwhile, the brown-haired man sighed and massaged his eyes with his right thumb and index finger. When he finished, Elecmon congratulated the group:

"Great. Now you are at the mercy of Alphamon. Do you really think you can compete against him without Omnimon?"

"No," Agumon replied succinctly: "My ultimate-level wouldn't stand a chance against him."

"And it will take a while before I reach my ultimate-level," Hackmon said.

"And before you ask. I'm not going to help you," the Guardian said, "I have to take care of the babies. And don't set foot in Primary Village anymore! I don't want Alphamon to attack the city because of you! So get lost!"

"Yes, yes," the yellow dinosaur sighed.

Meiko looked at Elecmon in shock. Her gaze showed sadness. Sad that they had to leave the baby digimon so quickly. Because she loved to play with them.

"Come, Meiko," Tai quietly urged her: "We should go before Elecmon attacks us."

"Okay..." she also replied in a soft tone.

The brown-haired man set himself in motion, closely followed by the black-haired and Agumon. Hackmon took another look at the city. Like his partner, he wanted to continue playing with the little digimon, but he did not want to feel the wrath of the guardian. That's why he hurried after the three.

When the group disappeared from Elecmon's field of vision, he sighed heavily. He really didn't want to drive out Tai, Agumon, Meiko and Hackmon, but he had to think about the safety of the babies. The guardian looked up into the clouds. He knew for a long time that the city had a second guardian who always guarded the village at the top of the air. Sometimes the second guardian came down to Elecmon and the two chatted briefly before he leapt again into the air. If he wanted to rest, the second guardian retreated in a nearby cave. However, he hardly needed any sleep.

Elecmon's eyes finally caught the second guard, who was about to land a little far away. The second guard hit his wings vigorously so that he could glide better to the ground. As always, the first guardian rushed to him.

Examon, so the name of the second guardian, had two large and two small wings. The front, larger pair was covered with red scales on the inside, while the outside and the rear pair of wings were embroidered with silver scales. The silver scales consisted of Chrome-Digizoid, a very hard metal. If Examon wanted to block an attack, he used the outside of his front wings. The second guardian himself was a big, red-scaled dragon. Only part of the neck, chest and abdomen were embroidered with bright scales. His two powerfully built legs held him upright despite the heavy weight of his wings. The tips of the silver claws on his hands and feet were golden. The two arms were not quite as strong as the legs. Nevertheless, these could lift heavy things effortlessly. This was necessary because Examon held a long lance in his right hand. The Ambriose, as the lance was called, fired a laser, but was also able to fire ammunition. The second guardian had a long tail that was twice as long as the entire body of the digimon. The tip of it was deformed into a golden spear. In front of the approach sat a ring of the same color. On the back, Examon had a series of silver zigzags that went from the lower neck to the tail's approach. Horns adorned the head of the Digimon, whose tips were also golden, as with the claws.

"Elecmon?" said the big dragon with his deep voice.

His voice revealed that the second guardian was very calm and composed. Nothing would get him out of his composure so quickly.

"Yes?" Elecmon tilted his head to the side.

"I understand that you don't want to have anything to do with our former lord King Drasil anymore, but if the digital world gets a reboot again, then we should help them."

"And leave the city alone, Examon? Who then takes care of the babies? And who protects the city?"

"Rgh," he growled, having forgotten: "I forgot. The babies would then be alone and unprotected."

"Exactly. That's why, I want, no, I can't help them."

"We both had sworn to protect Primary Village without the knowledge about the other's existence. That is why we become Primary Village's guardians. We have nothing to do with them anymore..."

"Exactly.", Elecmon sighed hard: "And I personally don't want anything to do with it anymore."

"I know," Examon moved his four wings, but briefly closed his eyes: "King Drasil... The Homeostasis... At that time, we were free... But the constant conflict between them... That ultimately pulled us apart."

The big dragon struck again with his wings. Examon took off and flew a little into the air.

"But it's better now. We shouldn't get together anymore!" he cried before flying up into the clouds and then disappearing from Elecmon's field of vision.


	10. Chapter 10 - Hope and Sincerity

Chapter 10 – Hope and Sincerity

Patamon happily flew through the Takaishis' apartment. The little hamster had two large wings on his head. However, he could not fly fast. The underside of his oval body as well as his four legs had beige fur. The rest of the body was covered with orange fur. The little tail wobbled because Patamon was in good spirits. The big eyes looked at his expected trajectory.

The little hamster actually liked it when he flew through his partner's apartment. Although T.K. was in school, his mother was almost always at home. Sometimes Patamon sat down next to her and just listened to her as she muttered. Because T.K.'s mother, Nancy Takaishi, was an author and had already published some books, mostly novels and thrillers. She was sitting on a crime novel about a 19th-century historical murder case.

"Patamon, please come!" Nancy shouted at him.

"I'm coming!" he said and flew into the room with her.

"Could you please tell me how you like it?" she asked, and began to read aloud: "Quiet, careful not to make a noise, she went after him. She tried to breathe as calmly as possible, even though she was very excited inside."

"Hm! Sounds good!" said the little hamster.

"Really?" she sounded unconvinced: "I think you should write the last sentence differently."

"Hm..." he pondered: "How about that? She tried to breathe as calmly as possible, even though it was difficult for her, because she was very excited inside and she could hardly hide her nervousness."

"But the protagonist is not nervous... Just excited... Although... Yes!" she scrolled up a bit and wrote something in one sentence, then she went back to the end and wrote something there: "Now it sounds much better! Thank you, Patamon."

"You're welcome," he said, "I like to help."

"I'm back!" shouted another voice.

"T.K.!" the little hamster rejoiced and immediately flew towards him.

He jumped to his chest, holding him with his hands. Then he pressed him on himself. T.K.'s mother also stepped out of her room to greet her youngest son.

"Welcome home. How was school?" she asked.

"Good! I got 80 points in math," he said.

"Well done, T.K."

In Japanese schools, there are basically no grades. There were "only" points. The higher the score, the better you had scored in a test.

"By the way, I was second best," T.K. said.

"Really? Who was the best? Kari?" was Nancy's question.

"No. Surprisingly, Davis.", by her name, the blonde-haired man looked to the side, while his cheeks turned slightly red.

Ms. Takaishi smiled at her son and slightly stoned him on the forehead.

"You should tell her, T.K.," she said.

"I think so too!" said Patamon, making himself comfortable on his partner's shoulder.

'It's harder than it is. Matt and Tai have their problems with that," T.K. said.

"I know Matt had already told her," Nancy smiled.

"But Tai haven't told her either."

"Who exactly do you mean?" the little hamster asked.

He really had no idea what the two people were talking about.

"Sora and Meiko," the blonde-haired man replied with a smile: "Matt and Sora are together and Tai and Meiko are probably about to start a relationship."

"Although I rarely see Matt and Sora together," Ms. Takaishi said.

"They live out their relationship in secret. It took me a long time to find out."

"Right. Matt has always been very closed..."

"And sometimes daredevil. In the digital world he and Tai had argued again and again. One argument had even gone so far that they had both fought each other. We tried desperately to bring them apart, but neither of them listened to us. Only by...", T.K. did not necessarily want to name the Homeostasis: "Only through a god of the digital world could the two calm down."

"The digital world has a God?" asked Nancy.

"Yes. It watches over the digital world and always has its messengers who pass on its words to others..."

"Interesting. What is the name of this God?"  
"Its name is Homeostasis."

"Homeostasis..." Ms. Takaishi repeated.

"It chooses different digimon out to become its messengers. One of them used to be Hackmon, now it's Guilmon..."

"But I don't get rid of the feeling that the two are somehow connected," Patamon said, pondering briefly.

He felt he had forgotten something important. But what?

"What are you talking about, Patamon?" was the blond-haired man's question.

"I don't really know...", the hamster sighed.

"Unfortunately, I can't help you, you two," Ms. Takaishi sighed.

"Don't worry, Mom," T.K. said, "When we first were in the digital world, we didn't even know that there were two gods."

"There's even another god?" asked Nancy, slightly tilting her head to the side.

"Yes. His name is King Drasil."

"King Drasil… Yggdrasil?"

"Yggdrasil?", he repeated, never heard of this name before.

"This is the name of the world tree from the Nordic mythology..."

"I see…"

There was a silence between the three. After a while T.K. said:

" I'm resting a little bit now before I do homework."

"You can do that.", his mother replied.

The blonde-haired man sat on the sofa, took the remote control and turned on the TV. Two people were talking about digimon. This annoyed T.K. a little, because the public saw digimon as demons who only wanted to destroy the human world.

"Doc Azuma... How exactly does this weapon work?" the moderator asked.

The blonde-haired man looked on the screen in disbelief. A weapon against digimon? That was new. Patamon looked a little anxious at his partner.

"The Gizmon shoot a laser at the respective digimon," Doc Azuma explained: "That kills it. Normally the Digimon would wander through the human world as a ghost or be reborn as an egg in the digital world... The Gizmon prevent this by absorbing the-"

Suddenly the phone rang. Ms. Takaishi picked up the listener and asked,

"Hello? Ah! Mimi. Yes, T.K. is here right now. Wait a moment I'll give him to you."

Nancy immediately passed on the listener to her son. He immediately heard Mimi shouting in panic:

"T.K.! Are you watching TV right now? If not, switch to TV Tokyo right away! There-"

"There's a program running about a guy who invented a gun that kills digimon, right?" said T.K.

"Yes, that's what I mean! That's crazy! Ah, yes. And something else. Tai, Matt and Meimei are missing along with their partner. I hope this Alphamon guy has nothing to do with it."

"Calm down first, Mimi, okay?"

"I. Am. Calm! I'm only upset that a scientist invented such a weapon! And that Tai, Matt and Meimei are gone!"

"Maybe we should talk to Izzy first?"

"I already have! He said we have to wait and see. Maybe they're just in the digital world!"

"I actually meant the gun."

"Oh... Well. I'm calling Izzy now... Or no... We meet at Izzy! Mimi is out!"

Immediately she hung up. Meanwhile, the blonde-haired man sighed heavily. Mimi was sometimes really a hot spur. Sometimes, however, she was also an egotist. She often thought only of herself. Others did not have priority. So it is this time. Mimi didn't think about T.K. just coming out of school, doing homework and learning. Of course, she didn't think about it. Patamon, who was sitting on his partner's shoulder all the time, looked at the blonde-haired man.

"I have to go, Mom," T.K. said.

"Why?" his mother asked.

"You saw the TV report, didn't you? If there really is such a weapon..." he interrupted himself.

"I understand... But you should also think about your school duties."

"You don't have to remind me... But as a DigiDestined I also have duties."

"T.K.," replied the flying hamster.

" I'm going, Mom," T.K. took his bike key and walked out of the house.

* * *

Izzy was sitting at his computer. Next to him stood Davis, who looked unsuspectingly at the screen. He didn't understand what the redhead was doing. There were always combinations of Digimoji. These themselves were the alphabet of the digital world. In total, there were 48 characters. This coincided with the character from two of Japan's three alphabets.

As DemiVeemon's partner continued to stare at the screen, his D-Pad and D3-Digivice rested next to the computer. Basically, Davis wanted his friend to investigate them. The young man desperately wanted to know where exactly the golden light, which saved him and the others from the cloned Piedmon, came from. Izzy, who had previously studied Yolei's D3-Digivice, put his forehead in wrinkles. What he read there made no sense. Not that he couldn't read it. But the Digimoji were arbitrarily arranged as if it were some kind of encryption.

The redhead was constantly searching for the code in ancient writings so that he could better translate the script. However, he could not find a single help. Slowly, Izzy gave it up. He had been sitting on it for over an hour and so far he hasn't been much further. Normally he would be able to continue for a long time, but firstly he was not interested and secondly, the old legend about these knights occupied him more.

Meanwhile, DemiVeemon nibbled snacks along with Tentomon. Especially the sweet chocolate was liked by the little, blue dragon. He happily chewed on the candy and didn't seem to want to swallow it down. Tentomon himself just drank a green tea. The insect digimon preferred bitter foods more than sweet ones.

"Davis..." the redhead said.

"Yes?" he asked.

Izzy sighed heavily before continuing:

"I give it up. I can't find any help in other writings."

"What exactly do you mean? I don't understand anything."

"Normally I could easily translate Digimoji... However, the signs are arranged in such a way that they cannot be translated."

"Hm..." he folded his arms and pondered.

"In other words. The text is encrypted."

"Maybe you have to translate it with another language..." DemiVeemon suspected.

"I've tried that... English, German, Spanish, Chinese... No language helped..."

"Okay! We're here, Palmon!" a voice shouted, abruptly ending the conversation.

"Awesome! Izzy always has such great sweets!" said Palmon.

The door was opened and Mimi with Palmon entered the room with a broad grin on her face.

"Mimi," Izzy said, "Didn't I tell you to knock?"

"Yes..." she looked briefly to the side: "I've forgotten!"

"You'd rather remember things like that, Mimi," Tentomon rebuked her.

"Yes, yes," she said: "Anyway. What is going on with the translation of the old legend?"

"Dragging... Davis wants me to examine the golden light from his D-terminal and his Digivice," the redhead told her.

"Golden light?" Mimi repeated, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes. This light appeared before," Davis explained, "back in the fortress of the Digimon Emperor when we had reached the golden digimental."

"Wait a moment Davis," Izzy interrupted him: "The golden digimental... This allowed your partner to digivolve to Magnamon... Has this ever happened again?"

"Huh?" the young man looked at his friend in disbelief: "What do you mean by that?"

"He asked you if DemiVeemon ever became Magnamon again," Palmon explained.

"No. Is that so important?" asked Davis.

"No..." replied the redhead.

However, Mimi immediately noticed that Izzy was a little silent. But why? She couldn't quite imagine it. It knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" was Izzy's question.

"It's us, T.K. and Patamon," T.K. said.

"Come in. The door is open."

Immediately the door was opened and the blonde-haired man walked in with Patamon on his right shoulder.

"Hello, you," Patamon greeted the group.

"Hello, Patamon!" cried DemiVeemon, taking another big bite of the chocolate.

"Hey, I want to eat this too!" the hamster shouted and flew to the blue dragon.

"Me too, me too!" said Palmon, joined them.

After T.K., Mimi and Davis sat down, they all looked at Izzy. He stared at his computer again and pondered.

"Izzy," the blond-haired man said, "There's bad news."

"Yes and what?" the person in question asked rather disinterestedly.

"A nasty scientist has invented a weapon that can kill digimon without being reborn!" Mimi shouted.

"What?!" shouted Davis and DemiVeemon.

"Yes... Interesting," Izzy said.

"Izzy did you listen to them?" was Tentomon's question.

"Tentomon, I'm just trying to decipher the legend... I don't have time for other things!"

"Izzy! A scientist invented a weapon that kills digimon!"

"And? Digimon will be reborn if they die in the digital world..."

"That's not the case with this weapon!" said Patamon angrily.

Only now did Izzy understand what was really going on. His eyes widened, but before he could speak, the phone rang. The redhead looked briefly at the number. Then he sighed resignedly.

"A call from the special police unit," Izzy said, picking up the call: "Izumi? Hm... Wait, I'll put on speakers."

"A digimon has appeared in Ueno," said a male voice.

"Thank you for the information, sir..."

"Kawa. Shin Kawa is my name," the man introduced himself, "I'm going to wait for you on the spot."

With that, Shin relented.

"Let's go, DemiVeemon!" exclaimed Davis euphorically.

"Okay!" he confirmed his partner's words and jumped up.

"Wait, you two," T.K. said, "We don't know what level this Digimon has. I suggest that Mimi and I go. Our partner can digivolve to the ultimate-level..."

"And why should I listen to you?!" the young man ran at the blond-haired, irritated.

"If you don't want your partner to die, you'd better leave it to us... Ken and Minomon are not here... That's why you can't use Imperialdramon... And even if, Imperialdramon is very large. Rosemon and Seraphimon are rather small digimon, which is why they are better suited in a fight."

Davis snarled angrily, sitting on the sofa again defiantly.

"At least you are reasonable, Davis," T.K. sighed, "Let's go, Patamon!"

"I'm coming!" his partner said, flying on the blond-haired man's shoulder.

"Let's go, Palmon!" shouted Mimi.

"Okay, Mimi!" her partner replied.

So they rushed away. On the way to the digimon, the four chatted excitedly about the invaded digimon.

"Why do digimon keep coming in here?" she asked.

"I don't know..." the blonde-haired man admitted.

"Could it be because King Drasil was powered up again?" was Palmon's question-

"Maybe," Patamon replied.

"Why do digimon keep coming in here?" she asked.

"I don't know..." the blonde-haired man admitted.

"Could it be because King Drasil was powered up again?" was Palmon's question-

"Maybe," Patamon replied.

"Other topic. Say, T.K., have you already confessed your love to Kari?" asked Mimi.

"Don't get away from the subject, Mimi," T.K. rebuked her.

"Come on. It is obvious that she also has feelings for you. Should I help?"

"What exactly do you mean by that?" the blonde-haired man's cheeks turned slightly red.

"I'm going to couple you!"

"No need! Let's focus on finding this digimon!"

Mimi grumbled a bit, but she said nothing more. One could speak of luck that Izzy's study was in Ueno. This allowed the four to quickly reach the invaded digimon. This was a Knightmon that indiscriminately attacked buildings. At least it seemed so. Because when a man showed up, he tried to attack him. It was almost a miracle that no one was injured in the process. But perhaps it was also because some members of the special unit were present and protecting the people.

"Patamon, warp-digivolve to... MagnaAngemon!" the little hamster shouted, before becoming an angel digimon.

"Palmon, warp-digivolve to... Lillymon!" said the plant-like Digimon, before becoming a fairy like creature.

The two digimon rushed to the Knightmon. Meanwhile, a middle-aged man joined in.

"You two are DigiDestined, aren't you?" he asked, "I've already spoken to Mr. Izumi on the phone. However, we should spare ourselves the conversation. This Knightmon is dangerous and unpredictable."

"Despite this, we will stay here!" said Mimi: "I will not leave Lillymon alone!"

"That also applies to me. MagnaAngemon is my friend."

"Leave out your emotions!" Shin shouted: "You can't do anything now. Your partners can fight better when you are safe!"

"We've always been there in their fights, so we're going to stay here!" she said.

"Exactly. We have already faced some dangers... Still, we're still alive," the blonde-haired man continued.

"I'm not saying that because I don't want you here. I say this because of your partner," the man explained, "The Knightmon will attack you at some point. But your partners are going to protect you. This would give an opening to the foreign digimon, after which it can mercilessly attack your friends. Do you understand now why I want to take you away from here?"

"We already understand that... However,-", T.K. broke off.

He began to think about what Shin said. They held back their partner. There was no question about that. But leave the battleground just so they could fight better?

"I'm going to stay anyway. Our feelings are transferred to our partner, which makes them stronger!" said Mimi: "Isn't that right, T.K.?"

"Yes," he nodded to her.

"I see..." Shin closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "I can't stop you, can I?"

Both nodded and watched as their friends tried to drive the Knightmon into a park. Lillymon put her wrists side by side, forming a flower cannon. Eventually, she fired a sphere at the enemy. He swung his sword diagonally downwards and divided the object into two halves. Meanwhile, MagnaAngemon had drawn his laser sword and raced towards Knightmon. The opponent blocked a blow and executed one himself. The Engels-Digimon flew into the air and created a gate with the sword, which suddenly opened.

"We can defeat it!" shouted Mimi with delight.

"MagnaAngemon, don't kill it!" ordered T.K.: "It can't be reborn otherwise."

"I know!" his partner replied, "I'm not going to kill it."

"T.K.!" she said.

"It's not a digimon that can spread a virus!" said the blond-haired man: "That's why we don't have to kill it!"

"But it attacks innocents! If we don't stop it, who?! I can understand you that you don't want to kill it. You didn't want us to kill Meicoomon... But it was a redemption for them."

"Leave Meicoomon out, Mimi... Please. For Meiko, it was bad enough that she had lost her."

"I know... Meimei was very sad about it."

Suddenly Knightmon swung his sword and sent a shockwave that hurled MagnaAngemon and Lillymon against a wall. Immediately, they digivolve back to their in-training level. T.K. and Mimi ran to their partners and lifted them up. Meanwhile, the enemy was preparing for an attack again. Just as it was swinging the sword, a distortion and a black hand appeared behind it. The two DigiDestined recognized this hand. It belonged to an old enemy, but before they could react, he grabbed the Knightmon and pulled it back into the digital world. After that, the distortion closed again, leaving all those present silently.

"What... was that?" asked Shin after a while.

"Alphamon helped us... Like in the Kuwagamon attack one year ago..." T.K. replied.

"Why?" Mimi began: "I mean, he works for King Drasil... Why did he helped us again?"

"Now that you mention it... That's right. Why did Alphamon help us then?"

"Alphamon... King Drasil... Who exactly are the two?" was the man's question.

"Alphamon... is actually someone named Gennai. King Drasil himself is the god of the digital world," the blonde-haired man explained.

"I knew it..." Shin muttered to himself, "There is a god of the digital world..."

"Mr. Kawa?" she said, looking at Tanemon, lying unconscious in her arms: "Is something wrong?"

"Hm?" he said: "Everything is alright..."

"Really?" T.K. raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Really," he assured the DigiDestined: "You should go home now. We take care of the rest here."

"Are you sure?" asked Mimi, "What if the Knightmon comes back."

"Don't worry," he looked to the side, "It won't come back."

"Why do you think that way? I mean-" the blonde-haired man began.

"Don't worry," he interrupted him, smiling: "I can rely on my feelings. It has never deceived me."

Both DigiDestined looked at each other tacitly before saying goodbye to the man and leaving the place.

* * *

Patamon didn't know where he was. In front of him stretched a beautiful garden. He himself stood on a balcony and looked down at the complex. However, the little hamster knew he was on his ultimate-level. Seraphimon put his hands on the railing and finally clutched it.

The angel digimon was dressed from the torso to the foot with a silver-grey armor. His face could not be seen either, as it was hidden behind a blue helmet with a yellow cross. At the temples there was a white metal part, which was shaped like a wing. Seraphimon had five golden wings on each side, but he couldn't move them. His shoulders bore heavy, light blue plates with yellow wing-like symbols. There was also such a symbol on the chest protection. On the belly plate the crest of hope was engraved in yellow color. This sign consisted of a sun and a bell. Beneath this plate was another, light blue one. As with all other plates, yellow symbols were engraved. To protect his hip, the angel digimon wore three rows of armor pieces, which were held at the front by a yellow loincloth with Digimoji. The knees were protected by armor, including his elbows. The angel digimon itself was on the ultimate-level. Aside from his baby, in-training and rookie level, he always looked like an angel.

Behind Seraphimon was another Digimon. This one looked completely different from him, although her ultra-level was also an angel. Magnadramon, a good friend of Seraphimon, had a snake-like pink fur-covered body. On her back were two rows of five small, pink wings. Her lower body was shrouded in a darker pink than the rest of her body. Through two arms and two legs, each occupied with three grey claws, she was able to move on the ground. Magnadramon's green eyes looked seriously at Seraphimon's back. Her head was severed by hair from her neck. The two pink ears were long and shrugged a little from time to time, while her two brown horns were slightly longer than the ears. Eight red rings adorned their horns, each with four. Her mouth itself was bordered with a thin red line, which could only be seen on closer inspection. The muzzle itself looked like that of a cat. Her nose was relatively large but couldn't smell so good. Next to the nose sat four whiskers. The long-sanded tail, whose tip ended in a tuft of hair, balanced her out.

Magnadramon combined characteristics of a dragon and a cat. She was agile, but also strong. She moved gracefully but was also able to spew fire. However, she could be defeated with only one attack. Still. She was an unusual digimon. She could do a slide digivolution. This particular form of digivolution was rare and only few could use it as well as Magnadramon. She herself had another ultimate-level. Ophanimon had strong similarities to Seraphimon. Because of this she was also an angel. But Magnadramon hardly used her other ultimate-level. She liked it much more to fly as a a pink dragon through the air than being an angel that could hardly move around, whether on foot or in the air. In addition, it was very exhausting for her to digivolve from one ultimate-level to the other. After spending three months at the respective level, she had decided which one she was using. And that was just the pink, agile dragon.

"You don't want to join him, or Seraphimon?" said Magnadramon.

"No... I have my responsibilities here..." Seraphimon replied coolly.

"He is our friend... He is your best friend... You should help him," she said, approaching him.

"You didn't say anything like that before, Ophanimon."

"Please don't call me that. I much prefer Magnadramon."

"I know. Nevertheless, for me you remain Ophanimon... One of the three archangels and my best friend."

She sighed resignedly and looked down at the garden. Two Angemon sat there and talked about banal things like the weather."

"I'm not just an archangel... I am also a member of the Three Great Dragons. Magnadramon, the good one, that's how you know me," she said.

"You don't have to tell me that... If I may come back to our friend... He has changed..." said the angel after he sighed heavily.

"That's just the way it is, Seraphimon. Everyone changes. But... No matter what you think... I will help him. I'm not letting a friend down... Unlike you, who had driven Cherubimon mad because he looked more like a beast than a human."

"Ophanimon!" he energized, clutching the parapet more firmly.

"You said you had a job here. This task would disappear if the digital world was destroyed by him. And our friend wants to stop him, so I'm going to help him."

Seraphimon pondered Magnadramon's words. It made sense. He had sworn to protect the angel digimon and their homeland after Cherubimon's death, but if the digital world is destroyed by him, he would have no one to protect. But he really couldn't leave his home. Anger built up in him.

"Fine!" he growled: "Then I am going to protect **my** home alone. Go after him!"

"Seraphimon!" she snarled: "If he destroys the digital world, you wouldn't have anyone to protect! Do you want that, Seraphimon?!"

"Leave me alone, Ophanimon!", he yelled angrily.

With these words Patamon woke up. What a strange dream it was... He shook briefly and cuddled up to T.K. But he couldn't fall asleep anymore. But at the same time, Palmon had a strange dream as well. She was also on her ultimate-level and chatted with a Gekomon.

"Hm..." she said, "I could visit my old friend Vikemon again."

"But princess! We need you, geko!" shouted Gekomon.

"True," she laughed cheerfully: "Otherwise, ShogunGekomon falls asleep again, because he has no rival except me."

"Exactly, Princess! Exactly, geko!" the frog agreed.

Again, she laughed. She loved it when the Gekomons and the Otamamons ended their sentences with a "Geko". Rosemon always found it cute and exhilarating. The plant women lived together with several Gekomon and Otamamon as well as a ShogunGekomon in a castle near a coast. They all held karaoke competitions regularly, which either she or ShogunGekomon won.

Rosemon used to be a traveler who wandered through the digital world. At one point, during a terrible storm, she sought shelter in Gekomon's castle. They were just trying to awaken their master ShogunGekomon because he was sad because his rival was leaving. With her voice she was able to awaken him and so they organized a karaoke competition, which she then won. Then the big frog offered to stay with her. Rosemon understandably didn't mind, and the Gekomon and Otamamon immediately began calling her a princess. That happened just over two years ago. Since then, she hadn't walked out of the castle. She was fine there, and it was always fun for her to sing something to the frogs and tadpoles. Because she loved to sing. On her journey she always sang, even though she was almost always alone. But if someone listened, he listened quietly and made no noises. But the plant women did not like to think back to those days when she was alone. She just liked to be among others.

Suddenly an Otamamon was hopping on. He was slightly out of breath.

"Princess! You have a visit, geko!" cried the tadpole.

"Visit?" she asked, "Who exactly is it?"

"*******, princess. He said he wanted to see you, geko."

"Wow... Do you know who ******* is, geko?" was Gekomon's question.

"No.", Rosemon shook her head: "I don't know him."

"He's a member of the ***** ****** geko," Otamamon said.

"Good! Let him in!" she said.

Immediately the tadpole hurried away and came back a little later with someone stranger. Although the dream was very clear for Palmon, she could not see who exactly it was.

"So, you're *******?" she asked.

"That's me. I have a request for you, Rosemon," he said.

"Hm? And what exactly do you want, oh big *******?"

"I want you to accompany me to fight against him. Your combat skills are exceptional."

"Rejected. I'm not going to leave this place. The Gekomon, Otamamon and ShogunGekomon... I can't leave them alone. When I leave the place, ShogunGekomon will be very sad and fall asleep again. Then the Gekomon and Otamamon will also be sad. That's why I'm rejecting, oh big *******."

"I understand... That's a real pity... But I can't force you..." he sighed resignedly and turned around: "But if you change your mind... My faithful subordinates are everywhere. Let them know that you want to help me."

"I'm not going to help you, *******. I am sincerely sorry."

"I'm saying goodbye to you, Rosemon. Fare well."

So he went again and left Rosemon, Gekomon, and Otamamon.

"Princess. It would be a great honor for you to help him. He's a ***** ******, geko!" the tadpole shouted.

"I know. But I can't leave you alone," she said, before clapping her hands: "Okay! Who wants a personal concert?"

"Me! Me, geko!" replied Gekomon.

"Me too, me too, geko!" replied Otamamon.

"Good! Let's go!"  
So Rosemon began to sing. But after the first few lines, her view blurred and Palmon immediately opened her eyes. She was in Mimi's room. It had just been a dream.

"Palmon?" her partner asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I just had a weird dream, Mimi," the plant digimon replied.

"Really? What was this dream about?"

"I don't really know... But it was weird... I lived in Gekomon's castle until one day someone came who wanted me to travel with him. But I refused because I didn't want to leave the Gekomon, Otamamon and ShogunGekomon alone."

"Hm..." Mimi pondered briefly, before beginning to laugh: "You dream weird things, Palmon!"

"Yeah!"

"Okay!" she exclaimed, "Let's continue sleeping. Tomorrow is weekend... But we need our beauty sleep, right Palmon?"

"Definitely Mimi!"

Palmon's partners fell asleep again. The plant digimon, however, lay awake all night. But Patamon also thought about his strange dream, but unlike Palmon, he didn't tell T.K. anything because he didn't want to worry him. Because the last thing the little flying hamster didn't want was for his partner to worry about him.


	11. Chapter 11 - Dorumon

Chapter 11 – Carrier of the X-Antibody: Dorumon

Tai walk his way angrily. He was angry at Matt's decision to kill Alphamon. There had to be a reason why the black knight alias Gennai helped King Drasil. There had to! But the more the brown-haired man thought about it, the more he became angry. So Tai sighed and just marched on. Close to him followed Agumon. He was worried about his partner, because he usually talked far more. But now he was silent all the time.

Meiko herself stared at the brown-haired man's back as he walked. She still didn't understand why Matt and Akira wanted to kill Alphamon. But she wanted to understand it. Perhaps his death, as with Meicoomon, was also salvation for him. Perhaps he suffered more than they thought. And maybe Tai thought exactly the same thing.

Hackmon looked between his partner and Tai. He did not understand the whole argument. Why did they have to argue? Why did they argue? He didn't understand. What he only knew was that this dispute was about Alphamon. Alphamon... When the four-footed dragon thought of him like that, he got a distressing feeling in his chest. But he didn't understand that either. There was so much the four-footed dragon did not understand.

After a while, the brown-haired man stopped. Meiko nearly collided with him. But only nearly. She stayed a good twenty centimetres away from him.

"What's going on, Tai?" she asked, unsure.

"I thought I'd heard something... Must have imagined it," he replied, moving again.

"I can't walk anymore!" shouted Hackmon, and defiantly lay down: "My feet hurt! I am starving and thirsty! And I don't understand why you argued with Matt, Gabumon, Akira, and Wanyamon!"

"Hackmon..." Meiko said, kneeling down to him: "I'm hungry too. I'm also thirsty... My feet also hurt me. But-"

"But what?!" he interrupted her: "I can't walk anymore!"

"But we have to move on."

"Why?" he looked at her.

"Um..." she stammered, taking a quick look at Tai.

She hoped he had a good excuse.

"We can take a break," said the brown-haired man: "I think I've seen some fruit before."

"Definitely there were fruits!" exclaimed Agumon: "About five minutes away. I'll get them!"

With that, the yellow dinosaur was already pushing.

"And I'll get branches for a fire..." said Meiko, and straightened up again.

"Should I accompany you?" was Tai's question.

"Not necessary," she turned her back on him and turned slightly red: "I'll go."

So she hurried away. Hackmon changed a questioning look with the brown-haired man.

"What's going on with Meiko?" the four-footed dragon finally asked, "Is she sick?"

"What do you mean by that?" was his counter-question.

'She's not usually so shy."

"Hm... I honestly have no idea..."

Tai remained silent. In his mind, he was with Meiko. And whenever he thought of her, his heart beat strangely fast and a pleasant warmth spread in him. He couldn't quite classify it. But he was always happy when she was with him. He also felt the urge to protect her very strongly. Whatever happened to him, it didn't make sense. Normally he could talk to his sister Kari, but she was still angry with him for killing Meicoomon. Although it just happened over a year ago.

Hackmon watched the brown-haired man before he rose.

"I'm looking for water," he said, also swaying.

Tai was too immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that the four-footed dragon was leaving. Hackmon himself was looking for water for a while.

Then, after twenty minutes, he saw a river. Immediately he put his muzzle in the wet, opened his mouth and began to drink. This felt good. He was really thirsty. But in his mind he was with Meiko. She may have been weird. Why was it just so... Nervous? Could he say she was nervous?

Suddenly something was shimmering in the wet, forgetting his concern for Meiko. Curiously, the four-footed dragon raised his head and looked at the shimmer. There was an object in the water. Through the sun, which threw its rays almost directly at the thing, you could see it. Hackmon jumped into the water and fished the object out with his mouth. Then he swam back to the shore and tried to spit the thing out of his mouth.

However, it had become entangled in his teeth, so he couldn't spit it out. Half snarling, he ran back to Tai. Just now came Meiko, who had a good bunch of wood clamped under her arm. The four-footed dragon rushed towards her and shook his head wildly to show her that there was something between his teeth. Luckily, the black-haired woman was able to quickly see that something was stuck between her teeth. She let go of the bundle of wood and knelt down to him.

"Stay calm, Hackmon... I can't remove the object if you move your head like this," she said.

"Thatf thinf gotf caughtf inf myf teethf..." replied Hackmon, still trying in vain to spit the object out.

Wildly, he threw his head from one side to the other, and then threw it up and down. Eventually, by shaking his entire body, he tried to get the object away.

"Keep your head still, Hackmon," Tai said, joining the two before kneeling down.

"Butf I'mf notf gettingf thatf thingf outf!" cried the four-footed dragon.

"Please don't move your head and keep your mouth open... I'm already trying to remove the object." Meiko took the thing in her hand and pulled it up.

As the object removed from Hackmon's mouth, he shook before the thing lit up brightly. The black-haired woman let go of a scream in surprise. Hackmon was also terrified, as he jumped several meters back and slammed against a tree.

"Ow!" groaned the four-footed dragon.

This caused Meiko to awaken from her rigidity and she rushed to her partner as the thing slipped out of her hand. Tai picked it up and was a little frightened.

"That is…," he interrupted.

In his hand he held a golden amulet, which looked just like the one he had once possessed. In the amulet itself was a crest with a silver background. The symbol itself resembled an artistic representation of a breeze.

"A crest..." the brown-haired man finished.

"And what exactly is that?" the four-footed dragon asked.

"Hm... How can I best explain it...", was Tai's self-addressed question: "A crest is an object that a partner needs to digivolve to its perfect-level. Each crest is different and has a different meaning. This crest in your hand should belong to you, Meiko."

""And what does my coat of arms mean?" the black-haired women asked.

"I don't know," Tai admitted: "I've never seen such a crest before... Basically, we didn't even know that there were more than nine crests."

"And the meaning of the other crests are?"

Agumon just came back with some fruit in his claws.

" Tai's means courage," the yellow dinosaur said.

"Speak our strongest trait," Tai added, "Matt's crest is friendship, Izzy's knowledge, Sora's love, Joe's reliability, Mimi's sincerity, T.K.'s hope, Kari's light, and Ken's kindness."

"The crest once allowed us to digivolve to our perfect-level."

"I've already explained that, Agumon..."

"But now we don't need the crests anymore!"

"That's right. Agumon and the others can digivolve to their perfect-level even without a crest."

"It's too complicated for me," Hackmon exclaimed.

As a result, the brown-haired man had to laugh slightly.

"It is," he agreed.

"How exactly do crests actually work?" asked Meiko.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Tai said.

"I can't take it anymore and I'm hungry!" complained the four-footed dragon.

Agumon laid the fruit on the ground. Basically, they looked like a mix of apple and orange. It was definitely not a fruit found in the human world. Nevertheless, they looked very tasty. Without really thinking, Hackmon immediately bit into the fruit and grimaced. The mix of apple and orange was sour. Meiko and Tai also grimaced, but tried to chew further. Only Agumon didn't seem to mind the acid, because he chewed on it.

"Sour!" cried the four-footed dragon.

"Yes..." his partner agreed.

"Agumon..." the brown-haired man moaned, "Where did you get these fruits from?"

"They hung on a tree," Agumon replied, "They looked so delicious and they taste sweet."

"Sweet?! They're totally sour!" said Hackmon.

"Agumon actually eats everything... He has a different sense of taste than we do," Tai said.

After everyone had eaten the fruits more or less, the group decided to go further. The forest soon changed to a savannah with few trees. For this, the grass stood partly up to the hips of the humans. The two digimon themselves were virtually swallowed by the grass because they were smaller than their partners.

"Say Meiko," Tai began at one point: "How are you doing at your new school?"

"I like it. I've found old friends and we laugh a lot," she smiled.

"I'm happy about that," he said, "Why did you move back to Tottori?"

"Because of Dad's work. After Meicoomon's death, he had found a job in Tottori as a bio scientist. And because Mum doesn't necessarily want to live several kilometres away from Dad, we moved back to Tottori. My parents also thought it would be better for me if I lived elsewhere. After all, Tokyo is the tomb of Meicoomon."

Meiko suddenly noticed that for the first time after the death of her first partner, she didn't have to cry when she talked about her. Perhaps she had finally coped with death. Maybe it was simply because of Hackmon, who was always with her and only encouraged her by his way of doing things.

Suddenly, the four heard a cry for help. This came from the east. Immediately, the group rushed to the screaming scene and saw three Tyrannomon surrounding a digimon with purple fur.

This one had quite similarities to Agumon, because he ran like him on two legs. However, they were more well-built and covered on the feet with white fur. His arms were also narrower compared to the yellow dinosaur and embroidered with three black claws each. Just like the legs, his hands were covered with white fur. On the forehead of the dinosaur-like head was a red jewel with a silver embedding. The yellow eyes of the digimon looked frightened, while the two ears were laid flat. Even his black wings, unfit to fly, hung almost powerlessly from the back. The long tail, whose tip was also covered with white fur, hit the grassy ground incessantly. His belly was in a strong contrast to his purple fur, embroidered with white hair.

The digimon itself went back a few more steps a few steps further in fear. Behind him, a river roared. If the digimon were to continue, he would end up in the river and probably drown. So at least it was thought of Hackmon, who ran without really thinking on the three Tyrannomon.

"Hackmon!" Meiko shouted in panic.

"Understood," said the brown-haired man.

The four-footed dragon jumped on one of the Tyrannomon and tried to bite him in the neck. But he was thrown down by the red dinosaur and thrown back to his friends. Moaning, Hackmon rose again and looked briefly at the wearer of the glasses. Somehow she understood what he wanted and that's why she took her Digivice out of her skirt pocket and held it in her hands.

"Hackmon digivolve to... BaoHackmon!" the four-footed dragon immediately pressed again to the three Tyrannomons.

This time BaoHackmon jumped into the air and executed several back-flips before attacking one of the opponents with his claws. However, he hardly got a scratch and the Tyrannomon hit him with his tail. The four-footed dragon dodged to the side and tried again on the attack. But again, BaoHackmon was simply thrown to the ground. However, this did not prevent him from trying to continue.

The other Tyrannomon attacked him with the claws. The four-footed dragon jumped backwards but couldn't avoid an attack by the last red dinosaur. If you watched the unequal match, you might think that BaoHackmon was completely bulky and slow. As a Hackmon, he was far more agile and faster than his adult level. And the four-footed dragon could not cope with this. Meiko was horrified to see her partner being attacked by the three Tyrannomon one by one.

"Agumon!" Tai raved: "You have to do something! Otherwise, BaoHackmon-"

"Yes, yes," groaned the yellow dinosaur: "Agumon digivolve to... Greymon!"

Agumon's adult level ran to one of the opponents and tossed him over. He then spit fire on the Tyrannomon, which dissolved into data. Greymon then looked to the other two Tyrannomon. One of them ran towards him, while the other stopped in place before returning to BaoHackmon. He growled furiously. The red dinosaur hit him with his tail, but he dodged to the side.

Meanwhile, Greymon had already overpowered and defeated his opponent. It was already noticeable to him that he had fought more fights than the four-footed dragon, who now had serious problems with only remaining Tyrannomon. The red dinosaur spit fire on BaoHackmon and seriously injured him. Still, he kept going. In his mind, it was all about him wanting to protect Meiko. He didn't care what became of the purple digimon or even Tai and Greymon. He himself was driven only by the thought of protecting Meiko. Agumon's adult level rammed his massive body into Tyrannomon, causing him to stumble.

"This is my opponent!" cried the four-footed dragon.

"If you want to be defeated, carry on alone!" growled Greymon.

BaoHackmon began to growl, but Agumon's adult level left his opponent. Greymon himself was able to defeat the last opponent within a few seconds. The black-haired woman was relieved that her partner was doing well. She rushed to him and smiled softly. The four-footed dragon, however, turned his head away from her and growled slightly. He was upset that Greymon had defeated his opponent.

"Don't worry so much, BaoHackmon," said Agumon's adult level: "It's only the second time you've reached your adult level... You're not used to it..."

"And why are you used to it?" asked BaoHackmon.

"Because I've fought a lot more fights with my adult level than you have. Believe me, soon you will fight as well as I do," he said.

"Do you think?"

"Yes."

BaoHackmon turned back to his rookie level.

Greymon, too, digivolve back to Agumon and then stretched out a little. Meanwhile, Tai went to the purple digimon. He anxiously walked back a few steps and bent his head down. He was still too frightened by the attack of the three Tyrannomon.

"Are you alright?" the brown-haired man asked.

The purple digimon was silent at first. He had to gather and first digest the attack of the three red dinosaurs.

"Y-yes... T-thank you...", his voice rang out after a while: "You have... saved… my life... Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Tai smiled cheerfully at him.

Eventually Meiko, Hackmon and Agumon went to the unknown digimon.

"Who are you?" the four-footed dragon asked.

"D-Doru... mon...", he said embarrassedly, looking to the ground.

"What a funny name!" shouted Agumon, jumping once.

His reaction made Dorumon even more embarrassed.

"What exactly did the three digimon want from you?" was the question of the black-haired.

"They wanted to own something specific that only me and a few other digimon have," explained the purple digimon, bowing his head down again, causing the red jewel on his forehead to shimmer in the evening sun.

"Your jewel?" the brown-haired man questioned.

"No, no, no, no, no!" he replied: "Not my jewel... They wanted to have my X-antibody."

"X-antibody?" everyone else repeated.

"Yes. My x-antibody... Have you ever heard of it?"

"No... What is an x-antibody?" asked Hackmon curiously.

"It's a kind of program that makes you stronger. Carriers are characterized by a jewel or crystal. They are generally stronger than other digimon... However, many want to have an x-antibody and that's why the three Tyrannomon chased me..." he said quietly, but without the others hearing it, adding: "That's what I've got when I'm not on my ultimate-level... I am constantly being attacked..."

"Luckily we arrived in time, Dorumon," Tai said, smiling.

"Yes!" Agumon agreed.

"Who are you?" asked Dorumon suddenly, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"I'm Tai Yagami and this is my partner Agumon," the brown-haired man introduced himself and his partner.

"My name is Meiko Mochizuki..." she began: "And this is-"

"Hackmon!" he interrupted his partner: "I am Hackmon!"

"Glad to meet you," the purple Digimon replied, "I'm Dorumon!"

"You've already introduced yourself," Agumon said with a laugh.

"Oops... Forgot!

The yellow dinosaur then had to laugh even more.

"Say, where do you want to go?" asked Dorumon.

"We don't know," Hackmon replied.

"Hm... I just thought I could join you... I mean. I'm not strong enough to fight adult-digimon."

"Surely you can come with us, Dorumon," Meiko smiled.

"We always like to help!" replied Tai.

"Thank you again for your help."

As a result, the group continued on its path.

They didn't know where they were going, but at some point they came across a Piximon, which constantly raised the lance. Behind the fairy digimon stretched a forest with several ruins.

"Pi!" cried Piximon again as he made a 180-degree turn.

"Isn't that a Piximon?" said Dorumon.

"Yes," Tai said.

"Hey, you!" shouted Hackmon, rushing toward him.

Immediately the fairy digimon pointed his lance at him.

"Who are you, pi?!" asked Piximon, disapprovingly, "I've never seen such digimon before, pi!"

These digimon tended to end every sentence with Pi, which is why Piximon sounded very ridiculous.

"We are travellers," Meiko replied kindly.

"I'm supposed to believe you, pi?!" shouted the fairy digimon.

"Yes," Agumon said, "It's the truth!"

"This is supposed to be your pathetic explanation, pi?!" still he kept his lance stretched off: "Don't make me laugh, pi!"

"Piximon!" shouted a stern voice.

A snake-like digimon appeared from the forest. Her long body, covered in white scales, was accessorised with gold elements and red rings. The end of the body was equipped with a golden, flame-like lace. Two feathered ears shrugged slightly and seemed to notice everything in the surroundings. The green hairs that were behind her head looked more like they were made of pointed scales than hair. On her forehead sat the crest of hope, while her sapphire-blue eyes looked at the strangers calmly.

"You're a DigiDestined, aren't you?" the snake-like digimon asked, "I saw you in one of my dreams..."

"In one of your dreams?" Hackmon repeated in disbelief.

"Yes. I have the power to foresee the future in dreams... Tai Yagami, Agumon, Meiko Mochizuki and Hackmon... You all appeared in my dreams," she explained, "But it's rude not to introduce myself. My name is Quetzalmon. Please come with me."

She flew towards the forest.

"Don't be afraid. Eldoradimon is very friendly," Quetzalmon said calmly.

"Wait a long time. This forest is a digimon?" asked Tai.

"Yes. Eldoradimon protects us who once swore to see the future."

The group of five followed the snake-like digimon, who led them into a ruin. At first everything looked outdated and ruined, but the longer the group followed Quetzalmon, the more well-groomed the walls looked. Eventually they reached a small courtyard with a view to the sky. Several trees surrounded the yard. The snake-like digimon did not stop, however, but continued to lead the group until it stopped in a covered place. This was equipped with several carpets on the floor and on the walls. The number of tapestries was exactly thirteen. Each tapestry showed a symbol. Tai could recognize his crests and that of his friends. Three symbols, however, he did not recognize.

"Sit down," Quetzalmon instructed the group.

She immediately sat down and looked at her again.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"I am not," Hackmon replied.

"I am not either!" exclaimed Agumon.

Meiko himself did not answer, because one of the tapestries attracted her attention. The carpet itself showed her crest.

"What does this crest means, Quetzalmon?" was the question of the black-haired.

"Oh, that? " said the snake-like Digimon: "The crest symbolizes strength."

"Strength...", Meiko muttered: /But I'm not strong... I cry all the time./

Outside the field of view of her friends, she clenched her hands to fists and gritted her teeth slightly. She wasn't strong. She was everything, but not strong and courageous.

"It's amazing that the tapestries depict the crests," Tai said.

"Exactly. When I first came here, I was also amazed," Quetzalmon admitted, flying to one of the tapestries.

This showed a kind of livery in artistic representation.

"That's the crest of justice," she flew on to a carpet with a symbol that looked like a flame: "And that here means honesty."

"Justice... Honesty..." Dorumon repeated quietly.

Meanwhile, Agumon's gaze slid to another yellow tapestry with a symbol resembling a white-and-grey spearhead. The carpet itself hung away from the others and seemed a little neglected.

"What does that crest means?" the yellow dinosaur asked.

"I've seen it somewhere before..." said the brown-haired man, pondering feverishly.

Where had he seen this coat of arms before?

"That's..." Quetzalmon interrupted: "I have no idea."

Both Tai and Agumon noticed that they were lying. But further questioning did not help. So they left it at that.

"That's the crest of miracles," Dorumon explained, "Please don't ask me why I know. It suddenly occurred to me that this is the crest of miracles."

The brown-haired man measured the purple Digimon with an indistinct look. Somehow, he doubted that Dorumon was telling the truth about the sudden incision. But for the first time ever, he became suspicious of a digimon who accompanied her. However, he remained silent. He knew that if he acted hastily and was wrong, he would damage the trust of his friends.

"Why does the carpet hang away and why does it look so neglected?" asked Hackmon curiously.

"The one who founded the city here on Eldoradimon wanted it that way..." said Quetzalmon, depressed, and looked briefly to the side: "Please. Don't ask any more. He asked me to share as little information as possible."

Everyone then remained silent and looked at her. At one point, the snake-like digimon sighed.

"Are you hungry now?" was her question, but did not wait for the answer, but flew away to fetch something.


	12. Chapter 12 - Confession

Chapter 12 – Confession

With his foot wide outstretched, Garurumon started. He made a big jump forward before starting again with his foot. Matt, Akira and Wanyamon rode on his back. The blonde-haired man himself was the first to sit and looked forward. Akira clung to the wolf's fur. She didn't really dare to touch Matt because she would inevitably have to touch him at the waist or thighs to find a foothold. That is why she had dug her hands into Garurumon's fur. Her partner was lying between her arms and was held by them. If she hadn't, he would have landed on the ground a long time ago.

"Say, Akira," Matt began: "You can keep your balance pretty well. Where does that come from?"

"I used to ride a horse in America... Garurumon himself moves like a horse. That's why," she said.

"Ah..." he said, looking forward between his partner's ears.

"I'm definitely happy if we take a break soon," the in-training digimon quipped.

"Why that?" the wolf asked.

"I can't hold on anywhere."

"You can just bite into Garurumon's tail and then hold on like that," the blonde-haired man said.

"And I'm supposed to do it for several hours, how?" Wanyamon replied, "Are you crazy, Matt?"

"Even if he did, Matt..." the wolf began: "It would be very painful for me."

"Hey, this was a joke..." said Matt.

As if out of nowhere, a female-sounding voice suddenly shouted:

"Move! Otherwise I'll ram you!"

Within seconds, Garurumon jumped to the side and came to a halt before a foxlike digimon rushed past the group. The digimon herself managed to call an apology before she disappeared from their field of vision.

"What was that?" was Akira's question.

She herself tilted her head to the side.

"Wow..." the wolf marveled: "This digimon was pretty fast."'

"Hm..." said the training digimon: "I've seen faster digimon before."

"Really?" the blond-haired man raised an eyebrow.

"Why so suspicious? Three friends of mine could easily overtake this digimon," Wanyamon said.

"And I thought Garurumon was fast..." he said, looking at the said digimon.

"One of those friends would have almost broken the sound barrier once.", the in-training digimon turned to his partner: "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Okay, okay," the blond-haired man moaned: "I wonder who this digimon was."

"No idea... But I really want to meet her again," Garurumon said, before slowly getting moving again.

"Why that?" asked Akira.

However, the wolf remained silent and moved faster before falling again in a gallop. It wasn't until late in the evening that Garurumon came to a halt. He was at the end of his powers. He briefly looked into the sky before shaking vigorously, throwing his partner, Akira and Wanyamon, off his back.

"Hey!" she complained loudly.

The wolf digivolve back to his rookie level and stretched extensively.

"Sorry..." he said, "I couldn't hold my level any longer."

"You could have said something to us instead of shaking our backs," Matt said.

"The exhaustion came so suddenly... But hey! I can hold my adult level much longer than usual!" he tried to distract.

"Nice try, Gabumon," the in-training digimon growled angrily.

For he had landed on his face, which was now hurting hellishly. Wanyamon shook and then hopped on his partner's head. She smiled and extended her hand to in-the training digimon. When she reached him, she stroked over his blue-and-white fur, whereupon Wanyamon began to purr like a cat.

Meanwhile, Matt went and searched for firewood. If he had known that Meiko was looking for wood at the same time, he would probably have laughed. But the group had separated after an argument. To him, however, it remained a mystery why Akira accompanied him.

After collecting enough wood from the forest floor, he went back and set up the branches. In order to prevent the fire from spreading, the blond-haired man had also collected a few larger stones, which he now placed in a circle around the stacked branches. A thicker and a thinner branch lay away from the heap. With Akira's hairband, which happened not to be rubber but a string, the blonde-haired man pushed the thin branch onto the larger one. After only a few seconds, smoke formed due to the friction and before it was cleared, a small flame had already formed. Matt bent down and blew so that the flame would not go out before he laid the branch to the stack. Then he blew again before the whole stack caught fire.

The blonde-haired man wrapped the hairband off the branch and wanted to give it to Akira, but the object ripped, making it far too short.

But before he could apologize, she said:

"The hairband was already quite worn out."

"I see," he replied, sitting down.

There was a crushing silence. The four watched the fire roaring in front of them. Akira stretched out her hands and warmed herself at the light source. Wanyamon herself jumped from her head and snuggled by her side. Within seconds, he had fallen asleep. Gabumon, too, kept his eyes closed and snorted very quietly, so that one could hardly hear him.

"It... This isn't the first time I've met a digimon", she said, stagnantly.

"Really not?" he didn't sound very surprised: "I once saw Agumon... At that time, we were still very young... Me, my brother T.K. and my friends. Have you seen the same Agumon?"

She shook her head.

"No... It wasn't an Agumon..." Akira replied, "I don't know what a digimon it was... But maybe I'm just imply... I was very young at the time."

"All of us, apart from Tai's younger sister Kari... We had all forgotten that we had met Agumon before."

"Memories... My sister always says they could deceive you..."

"Yes. Memories can really be deceptive..."

Again, they kept silent and looked at the fire, which was cracking loudly. Matt sighed heavily and looked at his partner. He continued to sleep calmly.

"Say... Do you have any other siblings besides your sister?" he asked.

"No," came as a terse reply: "But..."

She looked sadly to the side. If it hadn't been so dark, the blond-haired man would have thought he'd seen tears.

"My sister and her boyfriend Shin had a child..." she said, biting her lower lip: "My niece... She was seriously ill... She had leukemia. When my sister and Shin found out about it, they were desperately looking for a donor. I came into question..."

Matt listened tensely, but she didn't keep telling, so he asked,

"What happened then?"

"I... I was scared. Fear of bone marrow donation... That's why I ran away for a few days," she put her legs under her.

"Why were you afraid of it?"

"As a toddler, a doctor had once tried to give me a syringe by force... I suffered trauma," she explained, before she sniffled loudly: "Back to my niece. Sera and Shin had been looking for me everywhere while their child was in the hospital waiting for a donation. During the search, the doctor called. Do you know what he said?"

Akira interrupted and wiped away tears as they widened Matt's eyes.

"He said that my niece, the child of Shin and Sera, had died," she concluded: "When I came home, I found my sister crying, deeply saddened. Shin just did everything for the funeral. It was the first time I experienced Sera like this. When she saw me, she locked me in her arms and told me that her child had died. Afterwards, Sera got cancer too, which is why she her uterus was removed. She wouldn't have children ever again. It was all my fault. If I hadn't run away, then... Then Mika would still be alive. She would have received the donation. But just because I'm scared and ran away... She died. It was only through my decision that Mika died! My decision led to her death!"

Matt got up and hugged her. He gently stroked over her back. He wanted to say something, but he was silent. Akira didn't need words now; she just needed comfort. As she snuggled up to his chest, she cried incessantly.

"Please don't tell anyone," she asked through tears: "Promise me, okay?"

"I promise you," he replied, "But you were not to blame for Mika's death..."

She parted with him and looked at him angrily:

"I was could have helped her! And just because I was so selfish, Mika died!"

"You were scared... That's why-"

"That was? Damn it! This does not bring Mika back!"

"That's why... That's why you're so aggressive towards others... You're afraid you might let them down, right? You don't want them to die as a result of your choices, don't you?"

Her eyes widened. She stepped back and held her hands in front of her eyes before bowing. Then she began to cry even more bitterly. The blonde-haired man stepped up towards her and hugged her again. At some point, her legs gave away. Matt was able to catch her but noticed that she was crying to sleep. He gently laid her down before sitting down and watching the fire for a while until he too fell asleep. A little later, Gabumon woke up and looked up into the starry sky.

"Agumon..." he said softly: "I wonder if it is right that we keep it secret to them... I'm scared. I have fears that we will not be able to protect our partners... I have fersst that Alphamon could attack us... If have fears of the future. I promised Matt that I would stay with him... But what about our duty? The duty to protect the digital world, no matter what it costs... We swore it... So why did we have to argue? Do you still have so much affection for your old friend? To Alphamon? Or are you desperately looking for a way to save him without us killing him? It's complicated... I know that... But did we have to argue about this? Alphamon... King Drasil... We... You and I, Agumon... We are one... A digimon who wants to protect the digital world... So why do we have such different opinions? Sometimes I wonder if we could just be normal digimon without being Omnimon. Is that possible? I don't want to be separated from Matt one day... I just don't want that."

The reptile digimon was now completely up and looked at the fire. Then he decided. Quietly, he went to Wanyamon and woke him up.

"Hngh... I still want to sleep," he grumbled, "Is it tomorrow again?"

"No, Wanyamon," Gabumon replied, "But I have a request."

The eyes of the in-training digimon suddenly opened.

"Gabumon?!" he said.

"Be quiet please," he asked.

"What's going on?" he asked, as if he had heard the whole self-talk.

"I'll be gone for a while. Please watch out for Matt. There are many things I need to think about... About me and Agumon... About King Drasil... About Alphamon. And also about you, Dynasmon."

Wanyamon was silent and looked at him in detail.

"There are so many things I need to think about. That's why I must be alone," he said.

"Gabumon..." the in-training digimon raised his voice, which sounded heavy: "Do nothing ill-considered. Each one affects others to reach the next shape... You're strong because of Matt. Why then do you want to think about it on your own and run off?"

"I-"

"Listen to me. If you go alone, you will worry your partner a lot. Do you want that?"

"No."

"So better share your worries with him," he snapped his right eye briefly, smiling.

The reptile digimon smiled softly yet sadly.

"You would never have said anything like that before," he said.

"I'm changing, just like you," Wanyamon said, looking briefly at Akira, who was turning around: "No. Akira changes me. I just want to protect her."

"As I know you, you promised her your loyalty," Gabumon laughed.

"I did, but she just said we were friends. I just accepted it. I used to be upset about her behavior..." he looked to the ground: "But I don't get rid of the feeling that she's hiding something from me. Something very bad."

"Wanyamon..."

"Sure... In the beginning we didn't get along at all and sometimes we argue... And in the beginning, I didn't like the idea that someone would accompany me. But the better I know Akira, the sooner I feel like she's hiding something from me."

"Just give her time... I think she just needs time to trust you even better."

"Maybe you're right... I always demand far too much from others."

" Trust is built on reciprocity. You have to give her time," he said.

"And you still want to go? Think of Matt. You just said that trust is built on reciprocity. But how can Matt trust you if you don't trust him?"

"The Homeostasis..." he said only.

"Tse," said the in-training digimon: " It's just a program."

"And the God of the digital world. It had ordered me not to talk about these things. That's why I can't trust Matt with that."

"Then describe it somehow differently, so that it doesn't sound like us, King Drasil and the Homeostasis."

"I... I will try. Thank you, Wanyamon."

"Are you going now?" was his question and looked at him.

"No. I'm going to talk to Matt about it, even though I'm working against the Homeostasis's order.'

"Hey. The most important thing is what you do for others."

"I've never expected that something like that would come from you," Gabumon laughed.

"Are you looking for a fight?" Wanyamon raved but couldn't help to smile.

"No. Thanks to you, I'm in a better mood again."

"Good," he yawned extensively: "Then we'll sleep again."

Wanyamon hopped back to Akira and rolled in next to her. After a short time, he had fallen asleep again. Gabumon also lay down next to his partner, but still looked a little at the stars of the digital world. Then he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, the group of four continued on their way. Gabumon struggled with himself and he thought feverishly about how to talk to Matt about his concerns without mentioning them, King Drasil or the Homeostasis. But all his worries and problems were related to them. He walked with a heavy sigh next to Matt, who was looking at him at that very moment.

"Is everything alright, Gabumon?" the blonde-haired man asked him.

"Yes... I mean no. I just don't know," his partner looked at the floor and sighed again.

"Something is wrong with you, Gabumon. I know you, but you've never been as reserved as you are now.", Matt came to a halt and folded his arms in front of his chest.

Gabumon gritted his teeth. In the eyes of his partner, he could read that he wanted an exact answer and explanation. But the reptile digimon didn't want to and wasn't allowed to tell him anything. He just couldn't.

"Gabumon..." the blond-haired man knelt down to him: "I know you. I know you're very shy sometimes... But you have never locked yourself in front of me... What's going on?"

"I-"

"Gabumon and I belong to a group of digimon who once protected the digital world," Wanyamon suddenly explained.

"But that doesn't explain what's going on with Gabumon," Akira said.

"To put it simply, Gabumon has a lot of problems right now," continued the in-training digimon: "He's struggling with himself. His duty and his friendship with everyone... He does not want to neglect both. But he thinks he can only do one thing..."

"Gabumon…" Matt sighed: "We will always remain friends... And we protect the digital world. So why are you so worried?"

"Thank you, Matt..." his partner reolied: "I needed that. A confirmation that I can do both..."

The blonde-haired man smiled before recalling something.

"Wait a moment... This ancient legend... Gabumon you are a part of it?" he asked.

"Yes... Me and Agumon are part of it. More specifically, Omnimon," Gabumon said.

"Gabumon... I want to know something about you... Why did you become Omnimon in the fight against Diaboromon? Why not before?"

"It... It was hopeless. Countless Diaboromon surrounded us and we were defeated. You both, you and Tai, told us not to give up. We want to save the world, we want to save your world, that's why we fused to Omnimon. Why didn't this happen before? I suspect we weren't able to."

"But in the fight against Piedmon..."

"It wasn't so hopeless... I had guessed that the T.K.s crest would activate in this fight and then Patamon would defeat Piedmon..."

"I see..." he closed his eyes.

"Piedmon? Who exactly is that?" was Akira's question: "Not that I have ever seen one."

"Piedmon belonged to a group of digimon that called themselves the Dark Masters."

"The very name sounds like they want world domination," Wanyamon said.

"At that time, they deformed the digital world according to their will and wanted to resurrect Apocalymon," Gabumon explained.

"Apocalymon... He's just a legend..." said the in-training digimon.

"We defeated the Dark Master and Apocalymon. But Apocalymon planed one final attack," Matt concluded.

"And that was?" she asked.  
"He wanted to destroy both worlds with one last devastating attack, but our digivices were able to prevent it," the blonde-haired man explained.

"How? The digivices have such a power?" Wanyamon blinked, astonished: "I rather believe that the Homeostasis and King Drasil have stepped in. I don't feel any particular power in the digivices. Of course, they transfer your feelings to us and allow us to digivolve, but there is no other feature to them."

"Did King Drasil l and the Homeostasis helped us? But why King Drasil in particular? He wants to destroy our world," Matt said. "Or is still going to be"

"I don't know. But it is not the first time that King Drasil has planned to destroy an entire population. In the past, the digital world was overpopulated, which is why he has invented Project Ark. Only two percent of all digimon should survive. However, some digimon develops a so-called x-antibody... At least that's how I was told. After almost all the x-antibodies digimon were destroyed by us, King Drasil planned to eliminate all. One can speak of luck that Alphamon can stop him in time and be able to reflect. I thought King Drasil learned his lesson..."

"Why does it want to destroy our world?" asked Akira.

"I don't know..."

"Maybe someone controls it?" supposed Gabumon.

"That's ridiculous," Wanyamon growled: "King Drasil can't be controlled!"

"Maybe it can. But... It's unlikely."

"Hm...", the blond-haired man closed his eyes: "Let's stop here. We don't know much about King Drasil... And I guess you two don't know much about him either."

"That's probably true," the in-training digimon agreed with him: "All we know is that we once swore allegiance to King Drasil and that we should protect the digital world for him..."

"Should you?" said Matt.

"Well... King Drasil's commands were quite... absurd... Most of the time it was only a matter of killing certain digimon, even if they were innocent. Some of us don't execute the commands at all. Jesmon, for example, has constantly questioned King Drasil's commands... It was somehow his job."

"To what extent?" his partner asked.

"Jesmon was created by the Homeostasis... I don't have to say that the Homeostasis and King Drasil can't stand each other, can they? Jesmon constantly defended the opinion of the Homeostasis... Immediately others were also with the opinion of the Homeostasis..."

"And who exactly was with the opinion of the Homeostasis?"

"I don't know anymore. My memories are too blurred..."

"Okay. We should stop talking about it for today," Matt said.

"I agree with you, Matt," Gabumon agreed.

"We should continue," Akira said, "Right, Wanyamon?"

"Continue? Yes," he replied, "but I think we should go back to Tai and the others."

"What?" the blond-haired man is slightly confused: "We had a big argument with him..."

"I know... But the longer we are separated from Tai and Agumon, the sooner Alphamon could attack us or them. That's why we should go to them."

"But it's not as easy as you think, Wanyamon," Matt sighed.

"I'm just talking about a strategic point of view... Omnimon could defeat Alphamon."

"He's right," said the reptile digimon: "We should meet with Tai and the others...

"I know... I'm an idiot sometimes..." the blonde-haired man drove his hand through his short hair.

"Great!" Wanyamon rejoiced: "Then I digivolve to my ultimate-level and then we return to the others."

"Wait a moment," his partner slowed him down: "We don't know where the others are."

"Don't worry about that," smiled the in-training digimon: "I can feel where Agumon is."

Matt blinked in amazement.

"As long as Agumon wants us to find him, I can find him."

"That's awesome," Akira smiled.

"Unbelievable, isn't it? This has something to do with the Homeostasis' information network."

"I didn't even know the Homeostasis had an information network," Matt said.

"But it has. Wanyamon warp-digivolve to... Dynasmon!", Dynasmon flapped his wings hard to get the necessary upwind.

"Wait, wait! We're not even riding you and you want to fly off?" she raised an eyebrow.

The ultimate level digimon handed his two claws to his... Friends? Could he say that Matt and Gabumon were his friends?

Then, as they jumped on their outstretched hands, Dynasmon lifted them up to his shoulders so that they could take place. Eventually he flapped his wings again vigorously and took off. While the ultimate level digimon occasionally flapped his wings and headed towards Agumon, the others remained silent.

Akira, who was afraid of heights, clung firmly into his shoulder plate and kept her eyes closed. Matt and Gabumon looked down on the land, which was mixed into a mash of color due to the speed of the flight.

When Dynasmon finally came to a halt, he was immediately attacked by several spears, so he had to dodge.

"What's going on?" asked Akira, panicked.

"I'm just being attacked," her partner growled, dodging other spears.

The blonde-haired man looked down and spotted several Piximon.

"These are Piximon... They're probably protecting something," Matt said.

"I see..." Dynasmon suddenly muttered, "They're just protecting Eldoradimon..."

"A digimon? But I don't see one," she said.

"That's because it's hiding. You think the land before us is just a forest, isn't it? But the truth is that this is a gigantic Digimon."

Again, the Piximon threw their spears at the ultimate level digimon until suddenly a voice asked,

"What's going on here?"

A white, snake-like digimon emerged from one of the ruins.

"Quetzalmon... We've spotted strangers, pi!" one of the Piximon explained.

"Strangers?" she repeated, looking up, before her eyes widened: "That's…"

"Could it be?" asked Dynasmon himself.

"Sir!" cried Quetzalmon, flying up to him: "I'm glad to see you again... It's been 10,000 years."

"I am happy to meet you again too. As I see, you're doing well."

Akira noticed that her partner was suddenly speaking very formally and wondered why. Meanwhile, the white snake's gaze fell on the two people and Gabumon.

"Sir, if you allow me the question. Who are your three companions?" asked Quetzalmon.

"Akira here is my partner... And the other two are friends of hers," the mega-digimon explained.

"I see..." she looked briefly at Matt and the reptile digimon: "I saw you two in one of my dreams... More specifically, how you, Gabumon, became Sir Omnimon together with Agumon and then fought Sir Alphamon."

"Sir? Sorry, but I don't quite follow you," Gabumon replied somewhat shyly.

"And who are you?" was Akira's question.

"Oh! How rude of me. My name is Quetzalmon. I have known Sir Dynasmon for a long time and I once executed his orders."

"But that was 10,000 years ago," Dynasmon added.

"I am amazed that you survived for so long, Quetzalmon," Matt said.

"Eldoradimon offers us protection, so some of your followers are still alive. But that is now irrelevant. You are certainly exhausted, am I right? What if you rest here?"

"Sounds good," Akira said.

"Definitely.," the ultimate level digimon nodded briefly to Quetzalmon before landing on the ground and pulling his friends off his shoulder plates.

He then digivolve back to Wanyamon and shook himself a bit before following the snake-like digimon with his friends. She led the group into a room with many pillows. To everyone's surprise, the room itself also contained Tai, Agumon, Meiko, Hackmon and a purple digimon.

"Huh?" Tai blinked, astonished: "This is a really funny coincidence now..."

"Funny?" the in-training digimon repeated: "No. It's a coincidence that I met an old acquaintance again."

Wanyamon looked briefly at Quetzalmon, who was just laying down on a larger pillow. Meanwhile, Matt's gaze wandered to the unknown purple digimon.

"And who is that?" he asked curiously.

"I am Dorumon!" the digimon introduced himself: "Tai and his friends saved me. And since I don't know where to go, I just joined them."

"Exactly! Dorumon is really nice!" shouted Hackmon delighted.

The said digimon laughed embarrassedly and looked to the ground.

"I'm glad you like him so much, Hackmon," Meiko said.

"I certainly like him! He's so funny!" the four-footed dragon smiled broadly.

While Meiko continued to talk to Hackmon and Dorumon, Tai, Agumon, Matt and Gabumon looked at each other in silence.

"I'm sorry, Tai," the blonde-haired man began at one point.

"I should apologize... We both know what Alphamon is capable of. We really should kill him..." his friend said.

"Let's think about it first," said the reptile digimon.

"Exactly. And we should discuss this in detail. Moreover, if we kill Alphamon in the digital world, he will be reborn! And then he becomes the friendly digimon we know!" the yellow dinosaur said, before his stomach complained loudly.

"Someone is probably hungry," Tai laughed, patting his partner's head.

"Good.", Quetzalmon straightened up again: "Then I will get something to eat. Sir, what do you want to eat?"

"Hm... I don't care, Quetzalmon," Wanyamon replied.

"Sir?" Meiko repeated.

"Then I'm going to get something now," the snake-like Digimon flew away.

The in-training digimon looked after her before he sighed.

"She will never change," he sighed.

"What exactly does she mean by Sir?" the black-haired woman asked, "It almost sounded like you were a knight, Wanyamon."

"I am a knight," he said, hopping next to Akira, who had made herself comfortable in a red pillow.

"Meiko, you'd have to remember the old legend that Izzy is trying to translate," Matt said.

"Oh yes, this legend."

"I don't follow you like that... What legend?" asked Dorumon.

"A legend of thirteen knights who once protected the digital world world," Tai explained.

"Exactly. In one part it was called Dynasmon, the Righteous," Agumon continued.

"The legend sounds interesting," Dorumon waved his tail slightly: "I'd love to hear it completely."

"Everyone wants to hear it completely!" said Hackmon with delight.

Quetzalmon just came back. She was accompanied by two Allomon and two Dinohyumon. They put eight plates of fruit on the table before the four disappeared.

"Here," said the snake-like Digimon.

"Great!" exclaimed Agumon, delighted and biting into a fruit.

The others also enjoyed the food. After all had been eaten, Akira overcame the fatigue.

/Strange... Why am I so tired suddenly?/, she wondered, rubbing her eyes before looking at her partner.

He waved back and forth and yawned extensively. Her other friends also yawned or rubbed their eyes.

/What's going on ?/, Hackmon thought, before his legs gave way and he fell asleep.

"Hackmon?" Meiko asked tiredly, and then lay down.

"What's going on?" was Tai's question, before his eyes fell.

"Why are we all so tired all at once?" said Matt, falling asleep.

"Matt... A fruit, that-," Gabumon did not come any further.

Dorumon shook his entire body as if trying to dispel the fatigue. But he, too, fell asleep.

Agumon himself fought relentlessly against sleep. However, it soon became too difficult for him and so he closed his eyes.

" The weed has finally worked," Quetzalmon said, looking at the digimon hiding in the room: "Bring them into the dungeon."

"Yes, Quetzalmon!" said a GrappLeomon, taking the sleepers away.

After all had disappeared from Quetzalmon's field of vision, she sighed.

"I am sorry, but if I let you go, Eldoradimon will die. It's for his good."

* * *

A dark voice laughed loudly. Several rays of energy shot at him and his companions. They dodged and continued to watch him.

"I have an idea," said one of his companions.

"And that would be?" asked another companion.

"We give him all our strength."

"What? Are you insane?" another companion indignantly said.

"With the combined power, he would be able to defeat him," the first companion explained.

"Good. Then we'll do it!" the fourth companion decided.

"That's crazy!" shouted another companion.

"It isn't!" said the sixth companion.

"Then we'll try it!" he said, flying into the middle of his companions.

He spread his arms as his companions shrouded themselves in a light. They themselves were crushed into data absorbed by him. Then his shape changed. After going through the transformation, he looked to the enemy.

/Let's go, my friends. We will defeat him!/, he thought, before the fight continued.

* * *

Slowly, Agumon's eyes opened. At first, he blinked in amazement, because his gaze was not immediately clear. Then, when his eyes had finally become accustomed to the light, he recognized bars. Next to him lay Gabumon, who was also awake.

" What happened?", the reptile digimon moaned.

"I don't know, Gabumon," the yellow dinosaur said.

"I had such a strange dream..."

"Me too..."

"Wait a minute. We fought as Omnimon against someone. We were accompanied by six digimon."

"That's what I dreamed of!"

"Remarkable," Gabumon quid, before his gaze fell on Matt: "Matt!"

His partner briefly distorted his face. Then his eyes were open and stunned he looked around until he also recognized the bars.

"What?!" he said.

"We don't know exactly where we are," Agumon said.

Tai eventually woke up and straightened up. He looked through the cell, but only recognized Agumon, Matt, and Gabumon.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"We don't know," the blonde replied.

"We are in the neighboring cell!" a voice shouted.

"Wanyamon?" was the question of the reptile-digimon.

"Yes, that's me. Akira, Meiko, Hackmon and Dorumon are also with me. But they are still asleep," the in-training digimon explained.

"Do you know what happened?" asked Tai.

"Yes..." he looked briefly out of the cell: "Quetzalmon gave us a weed that let us fall asleep. Then she locked us in the dungeon."

"Why did she do that?" was Agumon's question.

"So that you don't leave here," Quetzalmon answered, flying to the two cells before continuing: "If you leave Eldoradimon, he will be killed. I'm not going to let that happen, so you're staying here.'

"Quetzalmon!" Wanyamon said.

"I'm sorry, Sir. But I had no choice. Eldoradimon is our home. If we lose him, we have no place to live."

"But that doesn't mean you have to lock us up, Quetzalmon!"

"Yes!"

"Free us, Quetzalmon!" thundered the in-training digimon.

"I apologize, sir. But I can't do that," she bent her head to apologize.

"Free us. That's a command!"

She shrugged briefly, but then she shook her head.

"Sorry. This is the first and last time I will reject a command from you, Sir," she explained, wanting to fly away.

"Wait, Quetzalmon!"

The snake-like Digimon tries to ignore him.

"Stay here Quetzalmon!" he shouted: "Would he want you to lock us up here?! Tell me! Would he want it?!"

"No. But-"

"Then free us!" growled Wanyamon.

"I-"

"Quetzalmon! A wrong word and you will experience my wrath. I swear!"

"Then I will take your wrath and endure it," she decided, turning to go.

Just as she was flying away, the in-training digimon called after her:

"Stay here, Quetzalmon! Quetzalmon! That's an order! QUETZALMON!"

Again and again he called her name until he called her only quietly, completely exhausted. Eventually, Akira, Meiko, Hackmon and Dorumon woke up. They were all amazed at first. Why were they in a dungeon? But when Tai explained that Quetzalmon had given them something to fall asleep.

Akira furiously slammed her fist in the cell wall. Meanwhile, the four-footed dragon looked at his partner, who leaned against the wall. Hackmon came to her and lay down next to her.

"Quetzalmon!," Wanyamon shouted again.

The betrayal hurt like an indelible flame. Eventually, he kept shouting her name. The name of the digimon, which he believed would not betray him.


	13. Chapter 13 - Knowledge

Chapter 13 – Knowledge

Dark rain fell from the sky to the earth. Several blue lightnings devastated the country. Kato looked at his partner. It was a Hippogriffomon.

His body covered with white fur while he looked quite muscular. The head of the griffin resembled a bird. His thick, yellow beak ran sharply, and he was able to hook well with it. His turquoise eyes were marked by vigilance, while his two ears were studded with feathers. He wore a brown ribbon and a gold pendant around his neck. Hippogriffomon walked on four legs. The front pair was shorter than the rear pair and each had three forward-facing toes. On the lower legs were two thin, bright purple rings. The back legs were more muscular and stronger. On the thighs sat an equally bright purple ring, which was however thicker than the front rings. Feet were deformed into claws. Two of them were forwards, one to the rear. Up to the ankle, the feet were stuck in a yellow-green armor. At the croup there was a white tail. The two large wings studded with feathers were tightly pressed against his body. Around the waist was a bright purple ring, which did not close on the belly.

He himself had been a fat boy with black, short hair at the time. He was wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts. His shoes were the same color as the shorts, while his socks were white with a black border.

One of the Dark Masters circled over Kato and Hippogriffomon. It was Puppetmon who played happily with the griffin. He threw him up with threads and let him bang on the ground from several meters. Normally Hippogriffomon could have used his wings to fly, but the doll digimon had tied them with his threads so that he could not move them.

"Hippogriffomon!" he cried, rushing to him as his partner hit the ground again: "Are you allright?"

"Could… be… better..." the griffin moaned and straightened up.

With his turquoise eyes he looked at Puppetmon.

This Digimon looked like a small wooden doll with two gears on the chest, which constantly rotated. He was wearing blue knee-length trousers with two straps stretched over his shoulders. His hands were in two white gloves and he was wearing a metallic ring on his wrist that had a hole, so a red cord went to the wooden cross, which was on the back of the digimon. There were also red threads on his legs, which ran to the wooden cross. The eyes had a red iris, while a black ring sat under the eye. A metallic nose was in the middle of the face and became longer when this digimon lied. On his head sat a red cap with a long end and a yellow bullet. A yellow skull and three also yellow squares adorned the front of the cap. The face itself seemed playful and yet he should not be underestimated, because this digimon was on the ultimate-level.

Again Puppetmon threw the griffin into the air and let it pop on the ground. Kato could only stand idly by as the doll-Digimon repeatedly dragged his partner Hippogriffomon into the air and let him bang on the ground. At some point, the griffin was left motionless. Meanwhile, Puppetmon turned to the fat boy, who anxiously walked back a few steps. His widened eyes looked at Puppetmon. He had taken his hammer in his hand and fired several energy balls at him.

Hippogriffomon was able to hurry from his partner with his last strength.

The bullets collided with the griffin's body, causing an explosion that threw him and his partner to the ground. Meanwhile, the other DigiDestined and their partners were also thrown at Kato. The fat boy could hear Sera calling for her partner

"Orochimon..." she said, exhausted.

Her partner looked at her with her sixteen eyes. Then she banged her eight heads on the floor. Kato looked at Shin, who was lying next to his partner Triceramon. He didn't move. But Shin was at the end of his powers. Like Daigo, who was in front of LoaderLeomon. Maki, who had been unconscious for a long time, awoke and saw the destruction. Immediately she rushed to her partner's digimon, a Megadramon.

"Are you alright?" she asked him, trying to wake him up.

She looked behind her and saw a large wave hitting the rock. She knew that the Masters of Darkness were getting closer to them. That's why she tried to wake up her partner.

"Get up!" Maki continued to wake up Megadramon: "Please! Get up!"

When this proved unsuccessful, she ran to her best friend. She shook Daigo continuously until he woke up. He straightened up and was slightly frightened before shrugging. He was injured by one of Piedmon's attack.

"I'm sorry," Daigo apologized: "I... Can... no more..."

Behind the DigiDestined Piedmon came closer and closer. Maki tried to keep Daigo conscious by shaking him. Suddenly she felt something strange. She stopped and got up. Her pupils had changed in four shades. The Homeostasis, who now controlled Maki's body, turned to the Dark Masters and said,

"I am one of those who strive for balance. You are the only ones left. You are our last hope."

The Homeostasis paused briefly to gather before continuing:

"The darkness has come from the light

It moves north to become water

The light moves south to bear the fire

And the wind hovers between light and darkness

And the light sinks into the darkness to return to the earth

You, the one to be chosen to carry great power in you

show your new strength!"

While the Homeostasis said this, Makis Digivice began to glow in a white color and LoaderLeomon, Hippogriffomon, Orochimon and Triceramon were shrouded in a whitish light as the earth beneath them became brittle. The light spread and enveloped the unconscious digimon in a transparent sphere.

Meanwhile, the Homeostasis left Maki's body. She lost hold and would have slammed on the ground, if Daigo wouldn't have caught her.

"Hurry up..." she said to her best friend: "One mor time..."

She didn't know why she was saying that, but she believed with the intervention of the Homeostasis that the digimon were able to digivolve to their ultimate level.

That's why she encouraged Daigo and the others to try again. He looked at his other friends, who were close to their partner.

"Please! It's time..." began Maki.

"But..." her friend said.

But he didn't get any further, because MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon fired energy lasers at them. At the last moment, Megadramon covered them and collapsed before their eyes.

"Megadramon!" she cried, rushing to him and kneeled down.

Meanwhile, the other DigiDestined were also wrapped in a transparent sphere before being lifted into the air by an unknown force. Then they landed in a square arranged again on the ground.

Megadramon himself began to glow as if he were also ready to digivolve to his ultimate level.

But, unlike the others, he and Maki were not shrouded in a sphere.

MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon reloaded their cannons. Meanwhile, LoaderLeomon, Orochimon, Hippogriffomon and Triceramon completed their digivolution. The sphere became brighter and brighter before it dissolved and the ultimate digimon were given new shapes. With a powerful stretch, they completed the ultimate digivolution.

LoaderLeomon became Baihumon, Orochimon became Ebonwumon, Hippogriffomon became Zhuqiaomon and Triceramon became Azulongmon.

Maki stared in disbelief at the four ultimate digimon she noticed as her partner placed in front of them. Then all their attacks shot at Megadramon, which bent in pain, while MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon again shot energy lasers at the digimon.

Megadramon turned into a bright sphere that moved rapidly toward the Dark Masters. The sphere easily broke through the lasers and attacked the Dark Masters. They were thrown several meters away and banished to another dimension with an explosion. The ultimate digimon fell to the ground and formed four pillars of light, which expelled the darkness and also banished it to another dimension.

After that, there was silence. Maki looked to the sky in disbelief.

"Why?" she asked herself, and saw her partner's data particles as it slipped away: "Why were only four chosen?"

She thought that only her friends were chosen, not her. Suddenly, she heard someone speak. It was a monotonous voice that she didn't know.

"_All things have been endowed with a true quality, which they carry within them as parts. Each property affects others to reach the next shape. But what happens to the ones that don't accept that influence?_" the voice asked.

"Who- ," began Maki.

"_You'll find out. But not now._"

"Maki! Maki!" Daigo shouted to her.

"Dai... go...", she said flatly.

"Mega... "

"Megadramon has volunteered to become the harmony," Baihumon said.

"He cannot be reborn," Zhuqiaomon continued.

"But that's cruel," Sera said.

"I know.," her partner Ebonwumon said.

"He will never be an egg again," said Azulongmon.

Maki's eyes widened as tears gathered in them.

"That's not true!", she screamed and ran away.

Shin was able to stop her by the arm and hold her.

"Maki... Calm down," he said.

"Calm down?! You would also react like that, if your partner was the sacrifice!" she still cried.

He pulled out and gave her a slap, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Shin!" Sera exclaimed, "You don't have to beat her right away!"

" Sorry...", he bit his lower lip.

Meanwhile, Maki straightened up again and covered her body with her arms. Sera came to her and hugged her gently.

The fat bay looked briefly at Maki and Sera before shaking his head. Then his gaze went over to Zhuqiaomon, who proudly stretched his head to the sky. Then the firebird said something.

* * *

"Kato... Azuma... Doc Kato... Azuma," a voice addressed Kato.

Tired, he opened his eyes. He had been working through a virus all night, which he released around midnight. That's why he felt like he was wheeled and wanted to doze a little bit. He had probably fallen asleep and had dreamed of his past as a DigiDestined.

"Doc Kato Azuma!" a voice called him again.

He blinked and looked into his assistant's face. She seemed slightly anxious and had avoided his gaze while Doc Azuma was able to catch a glimpse of her décolleté. Then he turned slightly red and turned his head away.

"I'm fine," he said.

His assistant sighed with relief.

"The virus copied the necessary data and deleted it from the server," she said, smiling.

"Very good," he yawned briefly and stretched. He was still embarrassed that he had fallen asleep. He took a quick look at a Gizmon floating in a container of water and smiled.

"I would suggest that you go home now and continue to sleep. Should I drive you home, Doc Azuma?" she clamped the laptop under her arm.

"Not necessary. I'm an adult."

"If you say so. One more beautiful day, Dr. Azuma.", she bowed shortly before she left.

Kato followed her with his eyes before he had to yawn again. He did not know that a distortion opened at the other end of the room. This was only about one and a half meters in diameter.

A bird-like Digimon emerged from the portal. It was covered from head to knee in a black and grey feather dress. The head itself was as big as the body and had two yellow, watchful, forward-facing eyes. The fur around the eyes was red and it seemed that over the objects of vision there were two brows consisting of feathers. Due to the yellow beak it could hook very well. The bird digimon wore a purple fabric on her torso. On them were two yellow litter stars. The fabric also formed a collar around the very short neck of the digimon. Its wings were long and at the end there were three purple claws with which it could grip well. In front of the claws were three red diapers, whose tips pointed to the approach of the wings. The yellow legs each had two forward-facing red claws and gave the bird a foothold. In general, it seemed like a mixture of bird and ninja.

The digimon sighed:

"Finally I'm here."

The bird took a few steps and looked around.

"Who the hell are you?" suddenly asked a voice.

Kato stepped to the digimon. His eyes were widened with surprise.

"You are!" he said, astonished, kneeling down at him before hugging him.

"Wait a minute. I know you." Falcomon said.

"Yes!" he nodded: "It's me, Falcomon. I'm so happy to see you again. How long have I not seen you..." Kato broke away from him and looked at his partner joyfully.

Falcomon also smiled. He was glad that after a long time he was able to see his friend again.

"You look so different," Falcomon said.

"Yes... I lost weight," laughed Doc Azuma.

The bird digimon looked at one of the containers and starteled. There was a Gizmon in one of the containers. Falcomon had seen such a digimon as it had killed another and absorbed their data.

"What is this?" the bird asked, unsure, pointing to the Gizmon.

"It's just a weapon that can destroy even the Dark Masters," Doc Azuma smiled.

" The Dark Masters do not exist any longer... They're gone. They were killed by the new DigiDestined."

"So what? There are certainly other malicious digimon, Falcomon!"

"Yes... But you don't have to kill a digimon and then absorb their data! This is just cruel! Don't you remember? We fought because we wanted to prevent something like this!"

There was a sinister smile on Kato's face.

"What are you talking about, Falcomon?" he asked: "Ah... I understand... You don't want innocent digimon to be killed, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?!", Falcomon flapped with his wings.

"No... You want people to be killed by creatures like you!" he encompassed the bird's neck and reached out.

Falcomon gasped for breath, before creating a throwing star between his claws and throwing it at his "friend's" face. The litter star left a burning wound on Kato's cheek. Inevitably, he let go of the bird's neck and put two fingers on it. When he lowered them there was blood on it.

"Falcomon!," he shouted angrily, trying to kick him.

But his partner flapped his wings vigorously and flew into the air before fleeing.

His flight was getting faster and faster. He didn't know. Exhausted and devastated, the bird ended up in a park.

"Why?" he asked himself.

A figure approached Falcomon and inevitably he looked up. It was Sera who looked at him with his eyes wide open.

"Falcomon... What happened?" was her question and knelt down to him.

"He... I…", the bird broke off and looked at the ground with concern.

"What happened, Falcomon?"

"He created these digimon, who kill other digimon and absorb their data!" it bubbled out of him, "I... I can't believe it... Is... is he really," he looked at her.

Falcomon wanted to know the truth. But he also wanted to have a lie.

"It's best to come with me first." she said.

"Okay..."

He could be lifted up and carried by Sera without resistance. She lay him in her car and drove in the garage of the apartment block. During the ride, the bird was already asleep, so Sera had to carry him up the stairs. As she bedded him on a sofa in her apartment and gave him a blanket, Falcomon muttered a thank you in his sleep before turning around. She smiled sadly and made herself a tea.

* * *

'That can't be... Where is this data?" asked Izzy as he scoured his computer.

"What's going on, Izzy?" was Tentomon's question.

"The research data on the distortions... my research data is gone. Lost without a trace! I do regular virus scans... But. I run it today and it didn't find anything...", the redhead's face was pale.

"Calm down, Izzy. Maybe you have the file somewhere on your computer..."

"I already checked everythin", suddenly an unknown file on his computer caught him off guard: "What. Is. That?"

"What is what, Izzy?"

Immediately, Izzy opened the hidden file and discovered a complicated-looking code consisting of ones and zeros. However, the redhead had a clue about computers and quickly found out that this file was a Trojan. But it was a strange Trojan. Why wasn't it detected by virus scanning?

"Tentomon I want you to go into the computer and take a closer look at the Trojan," asked Izzy.

"Understood."

The redhead pulled out his laptop and held it in front of Tentomon. He "jumped" into the computer before Izzy connected it with a cable to the other computer. As the insect roamed the network, the redhead searched in the drawer and pulled out his digivice.

"I'm in the computer now, Izzy," Tentomon said.

"Very good. I'll send you the coordinates," he quickly typed something into his laptop, so that his partner could see where exactly the Trojan was: "Tentomon. Digivolve to the ultimate level."

"Good idea... Tentomon warp digivolve to... HerculesKabuterimon!"

The yellowish insect digimon went on two hind legs with two front-facing and two rear-facing claws. HerculesKabuterimon had four arms, two on each side and two large, fragile wings protected by a yellowish armor. The head resembled that of a deer beetle, because it had a forward-facing horn.

The large insect continued to fly through the entire network of Izzy's computer to find the virus. Eventually, he was able to discover the Trojan. It was like him a digimon. More specifically, it was a Diaboromon that began to growl at the sight of HerculesKabuterimon.

"Izzy. I discovered the virus. It's a digimon," the insect said with his deep voice.

"Well. Destroy it, HerculesKabuterimon!" his partner replied: "Although. Wait. I'll look at what digimon it is."

" It's a Diaboromon Izzy," HerculesKabuterimon explained, collecting electricity in his arms: "Giga Shot!"

A large electrically charged sphere raced towards the Diaboromon. He dodged to the side and fired several energy balls at the insect.

"Akh!", HerculesKabuterimon was thrown back a few meters.

"HerculesKabuterimon!" cried Izzy.

"I'm okay. The attack came as a surprise."

"Get a hold of yourself!"

"I know."

Diaboromon was about to capture HerculesKabuterimon with one of his stretchy arms, but the insect flew into the air. The green Digimon repelled and jumped after him. HerculesKabuterimon noticed that his opponent was faster than he first thought. Nevertheless, this diaboromon was not as fast as the first one he had once fought against. Again, the insect gathered electricity in his arms.

"Giga Shot!", the sphere shot at the green Digimon

He fired several bullets at the sphere, so it exploded. While HerculesKabuterimon was deepened in the fight against Diaboromon, Izzy tried to analyze the opponent in more detail. He had several programs run at the same time.

Meanwhile, within a few minutes, the redhead developed a complete virus that was supposed to paralyze Diaboromon. This made it easier for the insect to defeat the enemy.

"That's not a digimon, HerculesKabuterimon." said Izzy suddenly, because he had discovered something unexpected.

"What?! But what is it?" his partner asked as he rammed the green Digimon.

"It is a virus that controls several digimon, called Gizmon. As far as I can tell, it stole my research data on distortions and deleted it from my servers," the redhead explained, "The virus also accurately analyzed distortions and copied them to the Gizmon."

" When exactly did the virus infect the computer?"

"As far as I see it, it's been a good three-quarters of a year. It copied the data irregularly and sent it to another server. It has repeatedly deleted and restored my data so that I did not notice it. It's amazing that I only noticed it now that I was looking for the data."

"Where is the server, Izzy?"

"I'm just trying to figure that out. What I can say is that the server is in Japan. Don't kill the virus in the form of a Diaboromon until I give you that okay, HerculesKabuterimon."

"Understood!"

The insect jumped back when the enemy tried to ram him. But the next moment Diaboromon was so close to HerculesKabuterimon that he could no longer dodge. That's why he was thrown through the digital space. A volley of energy balls was fired from the opponent's chest cannon.

"It's fast! Faster than I thought!" the insect shouted as he tried to launch a new attack.

"Then I send him the virus I created!" Izzy decided.

"Izzy. Do you have the address of him?"

"No. But I have now found the server. It is in Shinjuku! If I load the server with a virus and then send it to Diaboromon, it will paralyze it!"

"That's the Izzy I know!"

"But it will take some time. Keep him at bay for so long, HerculesKabuterimon!"

"What do you think I am!"

The redhead smiled and started preparing everything. HerculesKabuterimon tried to ram Diaboromon, but he jumped backwards and grabbed the insect with one of his stretchy arms. Then it threw him to the ground.

"HerculesKabuterimon!" cried Izzy.

"I am alright. This thing is not going to defeat me!" he replied: "Giga Shot!"

Diaboromon was hit by an energy ball. However, it didn't make much of a deal for him and so it jumped back and forth between the walls.

Meanwhile, Izzy pressed the Enter button and said angrily,

"Nobody infects my computer with a virus! Here comes my virus!"

Within a few seconds, the redhead's virus reached the other server and briefly infected it. The virus then raced back to Izzy's computer. More specifically, it raced towards Diaboromon. The green digimon growled furiously when it was infected by the virus and fired a gigantic energy ball at HerculesKabuterimon.

He was caught in a huge explosion while something flashed just behind his eyes. He didn't even notice that he was back to his rookie level.

The image itself showed him and Gomamon's ultimate level, Vikemon. The two talked about something before another digimon joined in.

"... mon... Tento... mon...", the insect heard a voice: "Tentomon!"

"Huh?" he said, astonished.

"Is everything okay?" asked Izzy anxiously.

"Yes... I had only seen something for a moment."

"And what?"

"I can't describe it so accurately, Izzy. But I think I talked to Gomamon, no, vikemon until another Digimon came along. What about the virus, Izzy?"

"It's been destroyed by my virus," the redhead explained, as he typed something on his keyboard: "Come back to the real world."

Tentomon saw a kind of distortion in front of him and slipped through it. A few seconds later, he was back with Izzy and in the human world.

"Is everything okay, Tentomon?" the redheard asked and couldn't hide his concern.

"I'm fine, Izzy," the insect said.

"The explosion was worse than thought. I thought you were going to be destroyed. But luckily nothing happened to you."

" Yes... I just wonder what exactly I saw during the explosion..."

"Hm... Maybe you've hallucinated."

" You think so? It felt very familiar... As if it were a memory..."

"Hm...", Izzy closed his eyes and pondered: "Honestly, I'm already concerned about why you and the others could fuse with Omnimon a year ago... It had something to do with Meiko's digivice... But it came so suddenly that it was funny again. And I took a closer look at Meiko's digivice afterwards... But it was completely normal."

" Perhaps the key to this lies with the Homeostasis? Maybe it knows why we were able to fuse into Omnimon Merciful Mode."

"So that's the name of the fusion... But there is another thing that concerns me. Why did you become our partners? Other digimon could have become our partners... Why did you become our partners?"

"I don't know... But it must have something to do with Omnimon Merciful Mode... At least I believe that. Because it was no coincidence that we were able to fuse."

"I agree... I don't think it was a coincidence..."

"You're going to find out, or Izzy?"

" No," his partner said, "I'm just going to translate this old legend."

"And I'm trying to figure out why we could fuse with Omnimon," Tentomon said.

"Let's do it this way, Tentomon! But if you need help, let me know."

"Don't worry, Izzy," the insect laughed and flew over to the couch: "Could I have your laptop for my research?"

"Sure," Izzy got up, picked up his laptop and put it on the table in front of Tentomon.

"Thank you," he said, and began to investigate.

The redhead also continued his research on the old legend. Both worked for several hours and did not notice that it was already evening.


	14. Chapter 14 - Tears

Chapter 14 – Tears

Before Izzy found out that his computer was infected with a virus, Tai and the others were still in prison. They all talked and tried to understand the motives of Quetzalmon. After two hours, the white snake returned. She seemed rushed and her eyes were widened. She stopped in front of the cells with heavy breathing.

"Eldoradimon is attacked by digimon, which I haven't seen before. Please! You have to help us!" she asked, ordering a DarkTyrannomon to unlock the cells.

When he had done this, Wanyamon raced furiously out and bit the white snake in the tail. She ignored the pain and looked at everyone imploringly.

"Please. Protect Eldoradimon," she repeated the request.

The in-training digimon let go and growled:

"Well, nice. But I don't do it because of you. Let's go Akira!"

"Good," she nodded to him.

"We will help too!" exclaimed Agumon.

"Definitely," Dorumon agreed.

"We're going to defeat these digimon!" raved Gabumon.

"Wait..." Meiko said, "We don't know who's attacking us."

"We'll see when we're out there," Matt said.

"Stop talking." said Quetzalmon, hurriedly: "Who knows what these digimon are doing with Eldoradimon."

"Don't worry. We take care of him," Hackmon assured her.

"But we should go out slowly," Tai said.

With that, everyone rushed out of the cells and followed Quetzalmon, who, as she stepped outside, snaked into the air and attacked a few of the attackers.

"These are the digimon that we once met in a desert and mentioned by the Homeostasis," Wanyamon growled.

"And what exactly are those digimon?" asked Matt, upset.

"Digimon that absorb the data from other digimon so they can't be reborn," Gabumon said.

"What?!" Tai's eyes widened with shock.

"Doesn't matter. We will destroy them!" said the training digimon: "Wanyamon warp-digivolve to... Dynasmon!"

Immediately, the ultimate-level digimon flew into the air and caught a Gizmon with his left claw, which immediately ended in an explosion.

"We will fight too!" exclaimed Agumon: "Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"

"Definitely," the reptile digimon agreed: "Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!"

Both ultimate-level digimon also flew into the air and attacked several Gizmon. Tai and Matt watched the fight together with Akira. Meiko, meanwhile, bit her lower lip. Again, she couldn't do anything. Hackmon could not (yet) fly and she doubted whether Dorumon could move in the air with his small wings at all. So she stopped there and looked up at the fighting Digimons as she clenched her hands to fists.

Tumbling and wheezing, Dynasmon fired a red laser beam at a Gizmon. This exploded and disappeared completely. Shortly, the ultimate-level digimon closed his eyes. Due to the sleeping weed, he was already parched and could hardly maintain his level. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon also had their problems. Nevertheless, they continued to fight valiantly.

Suddenly, all the Gizmon retreated into a distortion and disappeared. Why didn't the heroes know. Shortly before the Gizmon withdrew, however, Izzy had destroyed the Diaboromon, which secretly controlled the Gizmon, on his computer with a virus.

Exhausted, Dynasmon flew to his partner. Already in flight he was back to his in-training level and would have slammed on to the ground, if Quetzalmon haven't caught him. She took him to Akira, who locked him in her arms.

Meanwhile, Tai and Matt's partner landed on the ground before reaching their in-training level.

"Why did they withdraw?" asked Tai.

"No idea," Koromon had to yawn.

"You're completely exhausted," Matt said.

"It's because...", Wanyamon was interrupted by his yawn: "Of the weed..."

The white snake apologized and bowed. With her eyes closed, she waited for the punishment of the in-training digimon. But she quickly realized that he did not want to punish her for her actions. Instead, Wanyamon remained in his partner's arms and had fallen asleep again. Dorumon himself looked briefly into the cloudy sky before turning to Hackmon.

"Say. Why didn't you fight?" he asked.

"I can't fly," the four-footed dragon replied.

"I see." he said.

"But you have wings. Why didn't you fight?"

"With these little wings?" he moved his black wings and looked at them: "They are unfit to fly."

"Why haven't you digivolved?"

"Good question... I just didn't think of it!" Dorumon laughed with shame.

"So you can digivolve."

"Yeah! Up to the ultimate-level."

"Wow... I wish I could digivolve to the ultimate-level.", Hackmon looked at Meiko, who looked lost in thought at Tai.

"Is it because of her?" asked the purple Digimon.

"I think so."

"Hm... But I'm sure you'll be able to digivolve to the ultimate-level at some point."

"Thank you!"

Dorumon smiled at the four-footed dragon. He, in turn, jumped up and down briefly before hurrying to his partner. She looked at him slightly smiling and knelt down to him.

"Is there anything, Hackmon?" she asked.

"I want to digivolve to my ultimate-level soon!" shouted Hackmon.

"Uh... I don't know if you can do that," she bit her lower lip and looked to the side.

"Dorumon thinks I can!"

"First of all, you have to digivolve to your perfect-level, Hackmon," Matt said.

"Yes, yes. I still want to be able to digivolve to my ultimate-level soon!" he waggled his tail.

"Then you should make an effort," replied the blond-haired man, patting the head of the four-footed dragon.

The latter, however, defended his well-intentioned gesture and said:

"Good! I will train until I can digivolve to the perfect-level! Do you help me, Meiko?"

"Sure," she replied.

"And how do I train, Meiko?"

"Uh..."

"You can run through the aisles for a while," Quetzalmon suggested.

"Then we'll do it!" shouted Hackmon and ran off.

"Wait," said the black-haired woman, rushing after him.

"I'm coming too," Dorumon said.

Meanwhile, the others also went in and distributed themselves. Tai and Koromon accompanied Quetzalmon to the room of the tapestries. Matt and Tsunomon went in the other direction and immediately found a balcony overlooking the sea. Akira herself explored the ancient ruins with the sleeping Wanyamon on her arm, although she was not interested.

Towards the evening everyone was far too exhausted to eat anything. They made themselves comfortable on the cushions of the room with the tapestries and fell asleep.

* * *

Later at night, Akira woke up because she had dreamed badly. When she looked around, she realized that her partner wasn't with her, so she started looking for him. After ten minutes, she found him on a balcony.

Wanyamon himself looked up to the stars and was completely immersed in his thoughts. He did not notice that she was joining him until she called him by his name. The in-training digimon turned around and looked directly at Akira, then turned his back on her and looked back into the stars.

"I like watching the stars," Wanyamon said after a while: "They're so reassuring."

"Yes... That's probably true... They're reassuring..." she said, stepping on the railing.

She leaned on it with her arms and looked briefly at her partner before looking up to the stars herself.

"Do you know what you used to say about the stars 10,000 years ago?" he asked.

"No. How am I supposed to know?"

"That's right," he laughed briefly: "They had been told that these stars were the souls of deceased digimon who could not be reborn."

"That's... somehow sad."

"Yes... I don't know if it's true... In your world there are also stars... What do people say about the stars?"

"Hm... We know that the stars are basically suns, which sometimes have their own planetary system."

"I don't quite understand what you mean..."

"You don't have to. I don't understand it either," she laughed dryly: "But stars are really beautiful."

"Yes. They are. But I just like stars because of a friend of mine."

"Really? Who is this friend of yours?"

"I forgot her name. The only thing I remember was that she was the complete opposite of me. She was..."

"Quiet, calm, thought before she acted?"

"No! She was... Uhm... I don't know anymore."

"Wanyamon..."

"All I know is that she was the complete opposite of me. And sometimes I want to see her again."

"Then look for her."

"We were comrades, no. We were friends. We were connected a little bit. We complemented each other perfectly in fights."

"She's certainly a very nice digimon, isn't she?"

"I don't know, Akira."

They fell in a short silence.

"... I think she will hate me if I ever meet her.", she finally said looking somehow sad into the sky.

"Why do you think that way?", he asked

"I'm also a woman, have you forgotten?", she smiled to him but there was no happiness in her expression.

"But you're not like her at all."

"What do you know about me?!" she screamed.

As if a switch had been changed, her whole mood suddenly changed.

"Nothing! I don't want to be a DigiDestined!" she gritted with her teeth.

"Akira! Has anything happened in your past, so you're constantly insulting others?"

"Yes... But I don't want to tell anyone!"

"Akira... Do you know what she once said to me?" asked Wanyamon: "I constantly insult others because I like it. That's why I despise you!"

Her eyes widened.

"We are similar. That is why we are now partners. We are similar, we have our problems, we are both hotheads who do not want to be told anything by anyone, except when they have sworn their allegiance to them. Am I right?"

"But why did I become a DigiDestined? I keep wondering," she sighed, looking at her partner.

"As you know... I do not know the answer. But I think the Homeostasis was looking for a partner for me that suits me and vice versa."

"Maybe it's because we're partners now... We are very similar."

"Akira. I'd like to entrust something to you," he said.

"And what?" she bit her lower lip.

"I am sometimes afraid of my strength. I... I am very strong... I'm just afraid that I'm losing control and that I'm going to attack others for no reason. I used to not be so afraid, because there were some who could keep my strength in check. Now there is no one left who can do that... I'm kind of a running time bomb that you can't stop when it explodes."

"Wanyamon..."

"C'mon. Laugh at me because of that."

Akira shoved her hands under the body of the in-training digimon and lifted him up, then pressed him on her face.

'You're not going to lose control. I'm sure," she said.

"What makes you so sure?" was his question.

"I don't know... I don't know why I think so," she admitted.

Wanyamon remained silent and closed his eyes.

"But I'm here for you, Wanyamon," Akira continued.

"I know... Thank you, Akira," he replied, "But you can let me go now."

Carefully, she put him on the ground and knelt down.

"We should soon go back to the others and try to sleep," the in-training digimon said.

"Yes... But I would have one more question. Why does Quetzalmon call you 'Sir'? I was just wondering."

"I am a protector of the digital world. Quetzalmon herself has been a subordinate of me. That's why she's still calling me Sir."

"I see..."

"Sounds crazy, doesn't it?"

"No." She shook her head: "It doesn't sound crazy."

She yawned extensively.

"We should really try to sleep again now, or Akira?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded to him, and both walked back in.

* * *

The next morning Hackmon woke up early. Dorumon was also awake and ran with the four-footed dragon across the ruins. They were constantly trying to overtake each other. After a good twenty minutes they were both completely exhausted and so they stopped at a corner. Both breathed heavily in and out, as it was very unusual to run for so long. Nevertheless, they had held up well. Neither would have thought they would last so long.

"I... Can... Not... take… it… anymore...", Hackmon moaned.

"Me... either..." Dorumon said, before laughing.

"Why... Are you laughing?"

"We both... are completely exhausted... That's why..."

"What's to be... so funny about it?" he snorted.

"I just think... that-"

"Hello, you two!" shouted Agumon, who had just come around the corner with Gabumon.

"What are you doing?" the reptile digimon asked.

"We're just running," the purple digimon replied simply.

"We ran," the four-footed dragon corrected him.

"Why?" was the yellow dinosaur's question.

"I want to get stronger! That's why!" shouted Hackmon.

"That's why I had the idea that we would run through the passages together to make us more enduring."

"I see," Gabumon nodded his head.

"But I would have a question. Do you think your partners can give you strength?" asked Dorumon.

"What do you mean?" was Agumon's question.

"I think that false strength causes you to lose control of yourself. If humans are able to do that, then I don't want to have a partner."

"Humans give us strength because we are friends with them," the reptile digimon said.

"Really?" the purple digimon tilted his head slightly to the side: "But what if the friendship is instable? What if they only take advantage of you? Are they really friends?"

"Tai doesn't take advantage of me!" the yellow dinosaur exclaimed.

"Just like Matt. Matt and I are friends!" exclaimed Gabumon angrily.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm just worried about you. I heard a lot of bad things about humans," Dorumon said, looking to the ground.

"And? Not all people are like that! Tai and Matt are really great humans! I don't really know how to put it into words, but I like them!" said Agumon: "Although... Tai once forced me into a black digivolution... And a human once enslaved me, so I had to do another black digivolution... But! You are not right that all human are evil!"

"And? Tai forced you into something you didn't want!" the purple digimon argued.

"Because, he was confused at that time!"

"Really?", Dorumon scornfully blew air out of his nostrils: "Are you really sure? Friends don't force you to do something."

The yellow dinosaur remained silent and looked down on the ground. Although he knew Tai very well, he doubted him for the first time. It is true that at that time he had forced him to perform a black digivolution... But he hadn't done it on purpose...

"Agumon. Don't believe him," Gabumon said, "It's his opinion. You know Tai best. He would never want to force you to do anything. He doesn't want to hurt you."

"I know..." Agumon sighed: "But-"

"Hear me out. I think you, Dorumon, are just jealous of us because we are good friends with humans," the reptile digimon growled.

"I'm not jealous of you!" the purple digimon raved: "I'm just worried! That's all!"

"But you met Tai, Matt, Akira and Meiko!" suddenly Hackmon shouted: "They are nice humans, Dorumon!"

"Now, that you are mentioning Meiko. It seems to me that she has some problems with her self-confidence. The crest, which she has, the crest of strength... I think it will never awake... Meiko is weak. Weaker than anything I've encountered so far," Dorumon said.

"I like Meiko the way she is! She's a good friend of mine! I like her! I don't care if my crest awake at some point or not! She remains Meiko for me!" the four-footed dragon approached the purple digimon in anger, growling angrily: "And if you don't understand that, you're an idiot!"

"And? Meiko will never change, so you won't be able to digivolve to your perfect-level!"

"Then so be it! I'm not leaving Meiko alone!"

Upset, Hackmon ran away. For a brief moment, Agumon believed he could see tears in his golden eyes.

"Dorumon!" the yellow dinosaur growled: "You should apologize to Hackmon. Not all humans are evil! You're just prejudiced!"

"Yes, yes. Says the one who- Argh!" Dorumon suddenly screamed and grabbed his head.

"Are you alright, Dorumon?" asked Gabumon somewhat anxiously.

"No..." he lied.

The purple digimon took a sharp breath and out several times before calming down.

"There's something really wrong with you, Dorumon," Agumon said.

"I'm fine... You don't have to worry," Dorumon said, turning to go, "I want to be alone for a while, okay?"

"Okay..." the reptile digimon replied, watching the purple digimon disappear around the corner.

"We shouldn't trust him too much, Agumon," Gabumon said.

"I think so too. But why did Dorumon suddenly say that?" asked Agumon.

"I don't know. It seems to me that he has strong prejudices against humans and us who like humans..."

"But he knows Tai and the others... He knows they are friendly! So why does he have such prejudices?"

"I don't know... But I think we should talk to Tai and Matt about it," the reptile digimon said.

"Good idea. Not that we're starting to distrust them. That's the last thing I want," the yellow dinosaur replied.

* * *

With his teeth gritting, Hackmon ran through the aisles. He didn't know where to go. But Dorumon's words struck deep.

"_And? Meiko will never change, so you won't be able to digivolve to your perfect-level!_" echoed the words of the purple digimon in him.

"Is that true? Will I never be able to digivolve to my perfect-level because of Meiko?" was his self-addressed question.

The four-footed dragon came to a halt.

/Meiko... Maybe it would have been better if I had never become your partner.../, he thought: /Then I wouldn't suffer like that... And you'd probably be happier too... I-/

"Hackmon?" asked a familiar voice.

It was Meiko who smiled gently at him.

"I was looking for you," she said, kneeling down to him.

"Why?" was his question.

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"I see..." he looked to the side.

"Is everything alright? You've never been so dismissive..."

"Meiko... How would you describe yourself?" he asked her.

"Hm... Shy, anxious, weak-"

"Why then do you have the crest of strength?"

"I-"

"You are far from strong! I think your crest will never awake and I will never be able to digivolve to my perfect-level!"

"Hackmon..." her eyes widened.

"So tell me. Why do you have the crest of strength?!"

"I-"

"Meiko! Tell me!"

"I-"

"Do you want to tell me at last?!"

"I-"

"Or can't you tell me?!"

"If you don't let me talk, I can't tell you!" she yelled at him.

"So? I'm waiting for your answer!"

"I... have no idea..."

"Why don't you have an idea, Meiko?! Why?!"

She closed her eyes to hold back her tears. The black-haired woman stood up, lifting her glasses up with her right hand, while the other hand stroked over her eyes.

Then she turned her back to Hackmon and screamed:

"Why am I a DigiDestined in the first place?! I always have problems with my partners!"

"Problems?!" the four-footed dragon repeated, snarling: "You are the problem! I hate you!"

"I hate you too! You are just the rebirth of a digimon who had tried to kill Meicoomon! Because of you Meicoomon became Ordinemon and that she had to suffer more than ever! If you hadn't done this attack at that time, Tai wouldn't have been believed dead and Kari wouldn't have been able to digivolve Nyaromon to Ophanimon, which then merged with Meicoomon!"

"Damn it! I can't remember!"

"Why should you?! You are to blame for her death!" she pulled out her digivice from her skirt bag: "I just want to go home! Back to mom and dad!"

"Then do it!" he yelled at her: "You're useless!"

Angry, she threw her digivice against Hackmon's head.

"Then I'm useless!" she yelled at him: "You are useless as well! You couldn't even fight against these Gizmon because you can't fly!"

"Because of you! If I had reached my perfect-level I would be able to fly!"

"So this is all my fault?", she screamed while tears were running down her cheeks: "I hate you! I hate you, Hackmon!"

"I hate you too! You are stupid and weak! Why do I have to be your partner?! Why?!"

"I don't know!", she yelled at him and turned around before running away.

The four-footed dragon growled furiously and grabbed Meiko's digivice between his teeth. Then he went in a different direction.

Neither knew that the conversation was being followed by Tai. He had learned from Agumon that Dorumon had tried to separate the digimon from their human friends. Apparently it worked well for Meiko and Hackmon

The brown-haired man decided to follow the black-haired woman because she was more emotionally upset. He searched for her for a while until he found her on a dark corner. She had crouched on the floor and hid her face in the angled legs, which were hugged by her arms.

"Meiko..." Tai said, kneeling down to her.

She didn't react, she just kept crying. She had noticed the brown-haired man, but she wanted to be alone.

"Was it so bad?" Tai asked her.

Meiko looked up at him and nodded hard.

"What happened?" the brown-haired man continued with his questions.

"Me and... Hackmon... we had... heavy... argument..." she sneered and wiped away the tears.

"Why?"

"He called me weak... And that it would be my fault if he could never digivolve to his perfect-level..."

"Then we somehow talked about Meicoomon. I told him it was his fault that she died."

"King Drasil was to blame..."

"I know... But I was so upset that I blamed Hackmon, even though he has nothing to do with it."

"Meiko..." he sat down next to her.

"Ultimately, I threw my digivice at his head and ran away."

"You did what?"

"I know it was wrong! You don't have to punish me for that! I'm already making huge accusations!"

"I don't blame you, Meiko. You were very upset. Everyone would have reacted like that."

"You certainly don't."

"Even I would have been upset by Hackmon's words."

"Really?" she sounded astonished.

"Really," he smiled cheerfully at her.

Eventually, she closed her eyes and leaned on him.

"Thank you Tai for trying to calm me..." she muttered at one point, remaining silent.

The brown-haired man said nothing. Immediately, however, he noticed that Meiko had fallen asleep. After a while, the black-haired woman opened her eyes again and looked at the floor in front of her.

"Morning," Tai said.

"I don't think it is morning, Tai..." she said.

"No. You only fell asleep for an hour."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You slept so peacefully. I didn't want to wake you up."

"Thank you..."

Suddenly, she realized that she had been leaning on Tai all the time. Ashamed, she looked to the side and muttered:

"Sorry..."

"Why are you apologising?" he looked at her in amazement.

"Um... I just lean on you without asking you..."

"That," he interrupted briefly: "Don't do anything. I like you."

"Um... in... in... what... what... kind of... way..." she asked, playing nervously with her fingers around.

She stammered several words that Tai did not understand.

"Uh..." he turned his head to the side, while his cheeks turned slightly reddish: "I... don't know..."

"You don't know?" she tilted her head slightly to the side before standing up.

"It's funny that I wore crest of courage..." he also stood up: "I am... nervous? I don't really know.'

The brown-haired man laughed a bit.

"It's funny that you say that..." Meiko replied.

"But don't believe you're not doing justice to your crest, Meiko. The crests were created and present a feeling because it is the strongest feeling we have. You think you're weak, but you're not. Sora had also once doubted her crest because she believed that she couldn't love. But I am sure that your crest will awake exactly like Sora's."

"But how? How can I do it?"

"I don't know. But don't worry," he smiled at her, gently swaying over her cheek: "I'll be with you, just like your friends. Have we left you alone at some point?"

She shook her head.

"See? I'm not going to leave you alone... And believe me, we also have our problems, Meiko."

"Thank you... Tai..." she closed her eyes, stood up and kissed him.

It was just a brief moment. But after it was over, she jumped away terrified of herself.

"I... I am…", she stammered, embarrassed: "I... I..."

Tai looked at her with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. He was surprised that he had simply allowed it.

"Uh..." he didn't say more: "I..."

"I'm so sorry!" she cried, bowing: "I didn't want it. But my body just reacted! I am sorry. I am sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"Calm down, Meiko.", the brown-haired man raised his left hand: "You don't have to apologize all the time! It was... nice... somehow..."

His gaze scurried to the side. He bit his lower lip. Meiko approached him and smiled softly. With her right hand, she gently stroked him over the cheek. Then she kissed him again. This time Tai relaxed completely and he closed his eyes while his one hand slid to her back, while the other hand grabbed the back of the head so they could kiss deeper. Eventually they separated again and the black-haired woman snuggled up to his chest.

"I... love you..." she breathed.

"I love you too..." he spoke softly, putting his arms around her body.

After a while they separated again. Tai looked at her resolutely.

"Come on... We should look for Hackmon and also your digivice," he decided.

"Yes..." she nodded to him: "I think that would be best."

Both set out in search of the four-footed dragon. What they didn't know, though, was that Matt had been watching them all the time. Now he smiled with delight and closed his eyes.

/At last... Tai... Finally you have confessed your love to her... I'm happy for you./, thought the blonde-haired and sighed with relief.

Then he went to spend some time with Gabumon.


	15. Chapter 15 - Attack on Eldoradimon

Chapter 15 – Attack on Eldoradimon

Tai and Meiko walked close to each other. They had been looking for Hackmon for just over an hour, who seemed to be hiding somewhere or had dissolved into air. After another hour-long search, the black-haired woman sighed.

"Where is he?" she asked her boyfriend.

"No idea... It's almost like he has disappeared..." he said.

"What? But..." she looked to the ground and bit her lower lip: "It's my fault... I shouldn't have reacted so furiously..."

"Meiko.", Tai sounded reproachful: "It's enough with your accusations. This doesn't help us."

"I know..." she sighed heavily.

"Well, let's keep looking for him. He's going to be here somewhere," he encouraged her.

"Yes..." Meiko smiled gently at him, before both continued their search.

What they didn't know, however, was that Hackmon was on a roof, well protected by the trees. He had put his head on the cold stone and closed his eyes. Between his outstretched front legs lay Meiko's digivice.

Hackmon himself also faced accusations. He should not have called his partner weak. How did she feel now? It was, at least, he thought it, better if he avoided her now. His partner would surely only get more upset in his attempt at reconciliation. And that would then lead to the deterioration of their already current bad relationship.

Why did the four-footed dragon have to believe Dorumon's words? Now that he was thinking about it. Wasn't he weak? He couldn't even compete against an adult-level digimon, even though he was at that level himself. So he could also describe himself as weak.

With his teeth gritting, he briefly raised his head, only to then put it back on the stone. A heavy sigh escaped his mouth before pulling the hood of his cape over his head and then began to doze.

But within minutes he heard a loud bang. In terror, he jumped up and fell two metres from the roof into the depths. The shock also knocked Meiko's digivice down from the roof.

The impact was quite hard and he had to moan before his eyes caught a purple machine digimon. This made several weird, artificial-sounding noises. Hackmon himself dared not breathe, so strong was his fear of this digimon, which seemed to observe him. After thirty seconds, the four-footed dragon had to gasp for air and again this strange digimon made artificial-sounding noises. No matter what a digimon it was, Hackmon didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, the lens of the creature flashed. The four-footed dragon quickly jumped to the side and shouted:

"Baby Flame!"

Hackmon spied fire on the purple digimon. However, it didn't seem to mind too much, as he used his tentacles to grab after him. It managed to wrap his tentacles around Hackmon's back, right leg and hurl him to the ground.

Then he released an electric shock. The four-footed dragon screamed loudly in pain and, after the attack was over, tried to bite through the tentacles. Again, the enemy chased him an electric charge through his entire body.

"Metal Cannon!" an iron metal ball rammed the body of the strange digimon and destroyed the lens.

Immediately the opponent slackened and the tentacles let go of Hackmon's leg. The four-footed dragon straightened up, but wobbled strongly and would have fallen back to the ground if Dorumon had not caught him.

"Are you okay?" the purple digimon asked him.

"Yes... Somehow..." Hackmon said.

The two rookie digimon noticed a white object flying over them. It was Quetzalmon who was just trying to evacuate weak digimon inside.

"You two. Go inside! These digimon are too strong for you!" she exclaimed.

"I can handle them," Dorumon replied.

"Good... Then help protect Eldoradimon!"

The white snake flew on and attacked one of the opponents, attacking it with an ice-cold wave of energy. Even when the enemy exploded, she continued to fly to attack the next enemy. Meanwhile, Hackmon looked at Dorumon, who had closed his eyes.

"Dorumon digivolve to... Dorugamon!" he shouted.

Dorugamon walked on two powerfully built legs and had a red jewel on his forehead. But that was all he had in common with his rookie level. The two-footed dragon had a dark purple fur with several light purple stripes on it. The two wings were covered with a white scale on the inside. His long arms and legs were covered with white fur at the end and each had three red claws. At the neck, was a white, fluffy collar that marked the beginning of the white chest and abdomen. His muzzle was also covered in white fur, while the yellow eyes stared furiously at the opponent. The two ears were sharpened and listened attentively to the sounds made by the attacker of Eldoradimon.

Dorugamon flapped his wings hard and took off. He then rammed the enemy with his body before firing a metal ball at it. The machine digimon exploded, while Dorugamon flew to the next attacker.

Meanwhile, Hackmon grabbed Meiko's digivice and ran inside. Again, he reproached himself because he was so weak, because he had just shown fear. But what could he have done?

When the four-footed dragon came to a halt after a minute, he breathed heavily. He dropped the digivice and shook himself. Useless, weak, these two terms tormented him. With his golden eyes he looked at the digivice. Suddenly, he wanted to destroy it, but he didn't know what was going to happen. So he left it and lay down, still keeping his eyes on the object.

* * *

While Hackmon was laying there, Tai and Meiko were still looking for him. Meanwhile, they had also met Agumon, who helped them find him. All three had not yet heard of the attack. As the small group made their way through the ruins, the roof suddenly collapsed. Purely instinctively, the brown-haired man brought down his girlfriend and wanted to use his body to protect her.

"Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!" cried Tai's partner, cutting the roof with his dramon killers so that his partner and black-haired women were not injured.

"Are you alright?" WarGreymon asked them.

Tai, who had closed his eyes, opened them again and took a look at the dragon man.

"Yes... Thank you WarGreymon," he said, straightening up before helping Meiko.

"I wonder... how the roof could just collapse," she asked herself.

But before the brown-haired man or his partner could answer, Matt and Gabumon ran to them. Both appeared heated and slightly panicked.

"Matt, Gabumon... What's going on?" was Tai's question.

"Eldoradimon is attacked by these Gizmon... But they look different from the ones we fought against a few hours ago," the blonde-haired man explained.

"What?" said Meiko, unsure.

"I would say we are helping the digimon who live here. Eldoradimon is their home and if they lose him, I don't know what will become of them," Gabumon said, before breathing deeply: "Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!"

"Then let's go outside and defend Eldoradimon!" shouted Matt euphorically.

"Yes," Tai agreed, and then turned to his girlfriend: "You go deeper inside, Meiko."

"What? But," she began.

"Meiko!" he rebuked her: "You just can't do anything... Hackmon has disappeared without a trace and even if he was here, he can't digivolve to his perfect-level... Let alone his ultimate-level. So please, go to safety."

"Okay..." she muttered, walking away with slow steps.

The brown-haired man followed her with his gaze before turning to Matt.

"Was it really the best decision, Tai?" the blonde-haired man asked him.

"Probably not... But she can't do anything... And the last thing I want is for Meiko to be hurt," he explained, looking into Matt's eyes: "Besides... We should be more concerned that Eldoradimon is not harmed."

"Yes..." he agreed.

"Then we go!" said WarGreymon.

"Good," MetalGarurumon replied, before everyone rushed outside.

Once there, they saw how many Piximons were fighting the Gizmon. The dragon man and the metallic wolf also rose into the air and began to fight the attackers.

"Terra Force!" shouted WarGreymon, creating a bright sphere between his claws, which he threw at a group of Gizmon.

"Metal Wolf Claw!" several rockets fired by MetalGarurumon destroyed another group of opponents.

"Pi!" a Piximon screamed when he was hit.

The dragon man turned his gaze to the hitman and saw that it dissolved into data absorbed by the Gizmon. WarGreymon growled in frustration and turned his gaze back to the Gizmon. They had multiplied as if they were replacing the vanquished.

"Tch," he said, "it's almost the same as Diaboromon."

"How about Omnimon?" asked MetalGarurumon, who had joined the dragon man's side.

"Good idea. WarGreymon!"

"MetalGarurumon!"

"DNA-digivolve to..." both shouted unison: "Omnimon!"

"Since when can they fuse without our intervention?" was Matt's question when he saw Omnimon.

"No idea. But if it helps," Tai replied, shrugging his shoulders.

The white knight did not heed the words of his partners. Instead, he swung his blade and created a wave of energy that destroyed a horde of Gizmon. He then fired an energy blast at another group of attackers.

Eventually, he flew higher to dodge an energy beam before plunging at a Gizmon he was spitting on with his sword. Already at the contact of the opponent energy gathered into the blade. Omnimon swung his sword again, straight out of the Gizmon, to destroy more attackers.

/I feel like we're coming again and again.../, thought the white knight when he had beaten a group again.

"Metal Cannon!" a voice shouted, firing at a Gizmon that had tried to approach Omnimon.

Dorugamon flew right behind Tai and Matt's partner and said:

"Don't drop your guard!"

"Understood," Omnimon confirmed the words, attacking another opponent with the gun.

"Metal Cannon!" Dorugamon fired several small metal balls at the Gizmon.

/I should digivolve to my perfect-level... Yes... it would be better. I would be able to help better./, thought the winged dragon: "Dorugamon digivolve to... DoruGremon!"

DoruGremon's fur was red with black stripes on it. The underside of the neck, chest, abdomen and tail, however, had a white colour. The head had a white muzzle, while the red eyes looked quite aggressive. On the muzzle sat a pointed silver horn. As with his rookie and adult level, there was a red jewel on his forehead. His ears were now even longer and also seemed more petite. Half of the neck, starting at the head, was provided with a white mane and four black spines. The four silver wings flapped alternately to keep DoruGremon in the air. The front pair was bigger than the rear pair. The wings were each covered with five gold metal parts, which looked like spearheads. The four legs of the winged dragon were powerfully built. From the knee, they had a white colour, which ended in three black claws. DoruGremon's long tail had a golden spear at the top. At the beginning of this was a cord wrapped with two golden beads.

The winged dragon flew to a Gizmon and pierced it with his horn, defeating it. Meanwhile, another Gizmon approached from behind. This was impaled by the tail spear before it was crushed into data.

DoruGremon flew into the air and fired a large metal ball at an attacker. Then he jumped on another machine digimon and rammed it with his body.

"What's going on here?" asked Akira, who had rushed to Tai and Matt with Wanyamon.

"You see that!" the in-training digimon growled, jumping off her arm and hopping a few feet away before jumping into the air: "Wanyamon warp-digivolve to... Dynasmon!"

Dynasmon flew high into the air to get an idea of the situation. And he didn't like what he saw. Several distortions were formed again and again, from which Gizmon emerged.

The ultimate-level digimon gathered energy around him, which he then released in the form of a wyvern. The wyvern itself raced on one of the distortions and collided with it. A huge explosion erupted, killing several digimon, friend and foe. Dynasmon growled furiously because allies had died as a result of his explosion. But he wasn't allowed to worry about that. He had to concentrate on the fight.

So while the partners and DoruGremon were busy protecting Eldoradimon, Tai, Matt and Akira talked.

"Who exactly is behind this attack?" she asked, irritated.

"I think the guy we met was Doc Azuma before we landed in the digital world," the blonde-haired man said.

"How do you know that?"

"These Digimons, the Gizmon, were with Doc Azuma when we first saw them," the brown-haired man explained.

"It's not the first time for me and Dynasmon!" Akira raved.

"We know that... But let's face it..." Matt began: "Why don't they attack Eldoradimon directly?"

"Huh?" Tai said astonished: "They don't attack Eldoradimon directly?"

"No. I'm surprised. Eldoradimon is probably a pretty big digimon... So you would need such a number of digimon to attack it... But, they don't. As if it was a kind of... distraction," T.K.'s brother said.

"So they're planning something... But what exactly?" he asked.

"We have to find out..." Akira bit her lower lip: "But how?"

"And that's the problem..." Tai raved: "Our partner are struggling, so we can't ride on them to see something."

"Dynasmon!," she suddenly shouted, "Come here!"

"Not now, Akira!" he said, destroying a few Gizmon with two energy lasers.

"Good approach, bad execution," the brown-haired man said.

"Then you'll do better!" she hissed, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"There's no time to argue!" shouted Matt, before an argument broke out: "Think about what these Gizmon or Doc Azuma are planning!"

"Okay..." she let her arms sink to the side and bit her lower lip again.

* * *

Meiko rushed through the aisle. Again and again it shook, so that she nearly lost her hold.

"Hackmon! Hackmon, where are you?" she exclaimed, "Answer me!"

Suddenly, she stumbled and fell to the ground. She lost her glasses. The black-haired woman straightened up and searched with her hand for the visual aid. Eventually, she found them again and put them back on her nose. Meiko could see that a crack had formed on the right glass. However, this did not prevent her from getting up and continuing to search for her partner. After a while she stopped and looked at the floor. Where was Hackmon? He couldn't have blown himself up.

"Hackmon!" she shouted at him again: "Where are you?"

She was scared of the whole situation. Several digimon attacked Eldoradimon and she was inside, desperately searching for her partner. She was so desperate that she almost started crying, but she broke up. She knew it wouldn't help. So she just stood there, looking at the floor.

Meiko didn't know what was going on outside, how the fight went. Eventually, she sat down on the floor and looked at her palms. Useless... It was useless... Hackmon was anywhere else. Angry at her. Angry that she was useless and weak. Angry that he hated her. Angry that she hated him.

She knew that Hackmon was not to blame for Meicoomon's death. But she had been so angry that she had just told him.

A heavy sigh escaped her mouth and she put her hands on her thighs. It took a miracle that they would get along again. The black-haired woman believed this and so she stayed in place.

She didn't notice her partner's turn around the corner and saw her. First he put her digivice on the floor, then he said her name, so she turned to him. But she was silent. She didn't know what to say to him.

The four-footed dragon was also silent. So there was a crushing silence. Meiko got up again and looked at her partner. He stared back at her. Uncomfortably, he scratched the ground with his left foreleg.

"I'm sorry," they both said at the same time, interrupting the silence.

Again, the two remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Meiko... I hurt you badly," Hackmon said.

"But I..." she muttered, before continuing louder: "But I also hurt you. Why... were you so... angry... at me?"

"I was confused... by Dorumon. He said that your crest would never awake and I couldn't digivolve to higher levels..." he explained, before sighing.

She sat down on the floor and replied:

"You don't have to digivolve..."

"But I want it!" he shouted, "I want to digivolve!"

"I'm sorry I'm not strong enough..." she put off her glasses and wiped her palm over her eyes.

"Hey..." Hackmon said, approaching her.

Then he stunned her. She looked at him and saw that he was smiling at her. Eventually, he took her digivice between his teeth and shoved it to her again.

"Here!" said the four-footed dragon, dropping the object in Meiko's lap.

The black-haired woman looked at the grey-green screen, which showed nothing but its colour.

"We both shouldn't think about the words we just said because we wanted to hurt each other," Hackmon said, referring to their argument.

"Yes.", she nodded to him, but already got her coat of arms out: "Despite that... I don't know if my crest will ever awake, Hackmon."

"I don't know... But the most important thing is..."

"That we believe in ourselves," she interrupted him: "And try to move forward."

"Exactly!" he cried.

"I'm so sorry I blamed you for Meicoomon's death, Hackmon...", she said and hugged him

"I'm sorry I called you useless... I know you're still grieving for her... death..."

"I will never get over her death..." she said, "Even if I try to move forward..."

"Can I ask you something, Meiko? What would Meicoomon say to you now?"

"Don't worry, Meiko. No matter how hard it is, move forward," she released him and looked her partner in the eye.

"Don't worry, Meiko. No matter how hard it is for you, you **should** move forward!" Hackmon repeated the words and added a few of his own.

Meiko smiled at him.

"Dan-dan..." she said.

"Dan-dan!" smiled the four-footed dragon: "Come on! We need to protect Eldoradimon!"

"Yes! We protect him, Hackmon! And Hackmon..."

"Yes?"

"Dan-dan!"

Hackmon smiled again and nodded at her before they both rushed out. They just saw a Gizmon attacking a Piximon.

"Hackmon digivolve to... BaoHackmon!" he shouted, attacking the machine digimon with his leg blades.

"Let's go, BaoHackmon!" she cheered him on.

"Okay!" he rammed another Gizmon.

/I believe that he is strong... I believe that we can protect Eldoradimon!/, she thought.

BaoHackmon spit on one enemy fire and rammed another one the next moment. With a half forward somersault he attacked the Gizmon with his tail blade.

He himself was so full of self-confidence. But it wasn't just his self-confidence that made him so strong. It was also Meiko's self-confidence that strengthened him. With a sheer force he rammed again one of the Gzmon and managed to hurl it several meters away.

"He's so strong all of sudden..." the black-haired woman said to herself, "Why?"

"Your self-confidence! It makes me stronger!" shouted BaoHackmon after destroying a Gizmon.

"Self-confidence..." she muttered, before asking aloud, "But how?"

"I don't know! But you give me the strength I need!"

"Strength..." she repeated quietly.

The four-footed dragon dodged an energy ray and bit powerfully into the opponent.

"Yes... Strength. Am I strong?" was her question.

"Sure! You're strong in your own way!" he said, before jumping into the air, then doing several somersaults and then attacking the Gizmon with his claws.

Meiko clutched her digivice and looked resolutely at her partner, who had just defeated another opponent.

"I'm strong in my own way..." she repeated, "I'm strong in my own way."

"Yes, you are!" shouted BaoHackmon.

She closed her eyes.

"Even if it is difficult to move forward... I'm strong in my own way. I'm strong!"

Her lids reopened. Suddenly crest around her neck and the digivice began to glow in her hand. It was a pulsating around her neck and in her hand, which became stronger and stronger. But it wasn't awkward. On the contrary, it felt somehow wonderful.

"BaoHackmon digivolve to... SaviorHackmon!" he said, his red cape blowing majestically behind him.

SaviorHackmon walked on two blade-shaped legs. His tail-blade was now more pronounced and had a strong red colour. There was also a sharp blade on the heels. His body now looked far more agile than before, and his hands had armour pieces with red blades. Among these were three black claws, which he already possessed at his previous stage of evolution. A rectangular blue jewel thronged on his chest. His horn was now vertically on his nose and had a white colour. On the edge of his hood were now attached spines, which gave the wild appearance of him the final touch. He already had strong similarities to his ultimate-level Jesmon. His stature in particular was very similar to that of Jesmon. Either way, SaviorHackmon was much larger than his adult-level. He could even take it up with the size of Gabumon's perfect-level WereGarurumon.

With new strength, the dragon man split a Gizmon with his red blades before flying into the air and then attacking the enemy with one foot forward.

"Ledge Strayed!" he shouted, hitting the enemy, who immediately dissolved into data before SaviorHackmon turned to another adversary.

"Unbelievable... He digivolved... to his perfect-level," Meiko marvelled, looking at her partner with big eyes.

The dragon man managed to defeat all opponents in just over a minute. Then he looked at the black-haired man and nodded at her. She smiled and closed her eyes. SaviorHackmon flew by her side and said:

"Dan-dan, Meiko."

"You're welcome," she still smiled before getting serious again: "We should go to the others."

"Good idea. I saw them a little further down."

"Let's go."

"Wait. I can fly now. You can climb on me and then we fly to them," the dragon man suggested to her.

"Um... Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes!" he shouted.

* * *

With an angry outcry, Dynasmon fired two energy lasers at a distortion that ended in an explosion. Slowly, the forces ran out of power. He briefly looked at Omnimon, who was also almost at the end of his powers, because he breathed in and out quite quickly.

Suddenly, a digimon with a red cape raced towards Tai, Matt and Akira. Wanyamon's ultimate-level believed it to be a Gizmon and tried to attack it with an energy laser. But the attacked digimon dodged to the side and ended up on the balcony.

Meiko held on to her partner's back. Her body was obscured by SaviorHackmon's cape, so that only her head could be seen. The black-haired woman eventually climbed down from her partner and stood on the ground with wobbly legs. The flight had been fast, a little bit too fast for her. SaviorHackmon has flown really fast, despite the extra weight.

"Meiko?" Tai said, astonished.

"Is that Hackmon's..." began Matt.

"Yes," Meiko interrupted him with a smile: "That's Hackmon's perfect-level, SaviorHackmon. We did it! He can now digivolve to his perfect-level."

Dynasmon flew in front of the balcony and growled:

"You could have warned me that you are coming."

"Sorry," SaviorHackmon said in a deep-sounding voice: "But I was too fast. You wouldn't have heard me, Dynasmon."

"Oh-oh..." Akira said, knowing what her partner would say next.

"Hey, don't be so naughty, little one!" the ultimate-level digimon raved.

Omnimon and DoruGremon also joined the DigiDestined and their partners. The inspired dragon briefly changed his gaze to Meiko and then to her partner. He smiled briefly.

"It looks like you've reached your perfect-level," DoruGremon said.

SaviorHackmon became angry and pointed one of his arm blades at the winged dragon.

"Because of you, we argued so much, Doru... Uh..." he understandably did not know what DoruGremon was called.

"DoruGremon," he said.

"DoruGremon!" hissed SaviorHackmon.

"Could it be that you, DoruGremon, deliberately provoked him so much that he could reach his perfect-level?" asked Omnimon.

"How do you get the point of doing something like that? I just said my opinion. Nothing more," he disagreed.

Suddenly, the earth seemed to shake. Meiko lost her grip and was caught by Matt, while Tai fell to the ground.

"What's going on here?" asked Akira, clinging to the balcony railing.

"I have no idea!" shouted the brown-haired man.

Before they noticed it, they felt like they were falling many meters into the depths.

A few seconds later, they no longer saw the blue sky covered with clouds, but several lines and spirals on a black-grey background. But this picture was quickly over again and everyone saw a blue sky again and... a helicopter? Tai and his friends looked at the plane in disbelief.


	16. Chapter 16 - Defense of Eldoradimon

Chapter 16 – Defense of Eldoradimon

Everyone looked into the blue sky in disbelief. A helicopter circled above them. You could hear the rhythmic sounds of the engine blades.

"What. Is. That?" asked DoruGremon, his eyes widened.

"A helicopter," Matt replied: "That means we're back in our world."

"In the human world?" Akira asked in amazement.

"Yes," Tai confirmed, continuing to watch the helicopter.

In his field of vision came Quetzalmon, who flew high up in the air and wanted to take a closer look at the flying object. Omnimon flew up to the white snake. Both exchanged a few words before flying to the DigiDestined. Afterwards, Dynasmon said,

"I'll explore the surrounding. But I think we're really back in the human world."

With that the ultimate-level digimon wanted to fly off, but the white knight stopped him by posing in front of him.

"Wait," Omnimon said, "We shouldn't rush anything. People react very negatively to us. We shouldn't just fly off like that. That's what I said to Quetzalmon."

"Tch," Dynasmon said, irritated.

"But what are we doing now?" asked Meiko after she was able to separate from Matt.

"I've got it!" cried SaviorHackmon: "One of you will ride one of us and investigate the situation!"

"Good. I'll do it," DoruGremon said.

"I'm going to fly on him," replied the blond-haired man, rising on the winged dragon.

He then took off and flew several meters into the air before drawing his circles around Eldoradimon. The people in the helicopter watched the digimon until they met Matt. They were terrified. Had the digimon taken a human hostage? But how could that be? As people continued to talk in the helicopter, the blond-haired man tried to grasp the situation.

"And?" asked DoruGremon after a while.

"Just as we thought. We're back in the human world..." Matt explained, looking briefly at the port: "I now know where we are."

"And where?" was his question before saying, "Forget the question. I have no idea about your world."

"Let's go back to the others."

"Good idea. I don't like the thing there," he pointed his head at the helicopter before flying back to the others.

"And? Where are we?" Tai asked them.

"At the port where Ordinemon was defeated," Matt said.

"I see..." said Meiko.

"Is everything okay?" was the brown-haired man's question to her.

"Yes," she nodded to him.

"What are we doing now?" asked Quetzalmon.

"We definitely have to bring Eldoradimon back to the digital world," Omnimon said, "if we let him here sooner or later, he will be attacked by humans."

"Then we create a distortion," Dynasmon raved, flapping again with his purple wings.

"It's going to be difficult, Dynasmon. We still need someone who can create a distortion," Omnimon explained: "Moreover, we are both exhausted. We couldn't create a distortion, no matter how big it is."

"Then Eldoradimon has to stay here first, right?" was Akira's question.

"That's what it looks like," her partner sighed.

Tai gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Maybe Izzy knows something," Matt said.

"Yes. That's a good idea," Meiko agreed.

Shortly after, everyone rode on their partners and flew away with DoruGremon. Quetzalmon looked after them and sighed heavily.

"As I had seen it in my dream... They fly away... And then Eldoradimon will be killed,"" she closed her eyes and waited, but nothing happened: "Strange... I had never been wrong..."

* * *

When everyone arrived at Izzy, he was about to decipher the old legend. Tentomon himself, however, dealt with another matter. He himself was looking for the reason why he and his friends could fuse with Omnimon just over a year ago. Both were so immersed in their work that they didn't even notice that they were coming into the room.

"Izzy!" exclaimed Tai and went to the desk where his friend worked.

He looked up briefly and said,

"Hello, Tai."

Then the redhead was again immersed in his work.

"Hm... If I put this letter there and then read this letter differently, then... No... That's not how it works... It would be: My grandma has tomatoes in her pants," Izzy muttered.

"Hey, Izzy. We're back," Matt said.

But again, the redhead did not react. He was far too deep in his work. He didn't even notice that Meiko's partner was Hackmon.

The legend occupied him more than ever. He had already been able to translate another line, but otherwise he was no further. This line, by the way, was the last of the legend. It read, "Even if it lost your protection."

The text was also difficult, as Izzy was aware of. Nevertheless, it did not stop him from going on.

"IZZY!" suddenly shouted another voice: "I need help!"

Davis ran into the room and didn't even notice the other DigiDestined and their partner, let alone Dorumon.

"When it comes to this golden light... You see that I'm busy," the redhead murmured.

"Yes... But I think that light... Huh? Tai? Matt? Akira? Meiko? And their partner digimon? As well as a digimon I've never seen before. What are you doing here? Didn't you somehow end up in the digital world?" the red-brown-haired man asked, stunned.

"We were," Akira raved, "Are you that stupid, Davis?"

"Hey! At least I wasn't the one who said-"

"Could you discuss this somewhere else!" shouted Tentomon, who flew to Izzy's friends: "I can't concentrate..."

"But... An Eldoradimon stands in the port of Tokyo... and we have to bring it back to the digital world as soon as possible!" said Agumon.

"Who knows what will happen to Eldoradimon if we don't bring it back," Gabumon continued.

"I'm more worried about my servants," Wanyamon growled.

"Didn't you be angry with her because she locked us up?" asked Hackmon.

"shut up, Shortie!"

"Hey! I'm bigger than you!" he let his tail hit the ground, a little angry.

"How big is Eldoradimon?" was the insect's question.

"I'm watching right now," replied Izzy, who was scouring his program, which digimon analyzed: "I got it. Wow... The digimon is as big as Azulongmon!"

"Then we would need a huge distortion to bring this Digimon back into the digital world," DemiVeemon replied.

"We've come this far... But both me and Omnimon can't create a distortion of this size," explained Akira's partner.

"That's why we're with you, Izzy," Meiko continued: "Maybe you have an idea like we bring Eldoradimon back to the digital world."

Izzy got up and sat down on the sofa. He had his hands intertwined while he kept his eyes closed.

"There's a problem," he said.

"And that would be?" asked Tai.

"All my research data on distortions were stolen," he said, sighing heavily.

"What?!" Matt said in shock.

"Yes," the redhead nodded: "The data is gone, deleted, exported to another PC."

"Then we'll help you!" exclaimed Davis euphorically.

"No. You don't have any skills with computers. I also don't let anyone but Tentomon use my computer," Izzy decided, before his gaze fell on Dorumon: "And who is that?"

"I'm Dorumon," replied the purple digimon, waving with his tail.

"Dorumon... ", the redhead sat down in front of his computer again and scoured the program: "Dorumon, Type Data, Attack Metal Cannon. But do you know what's strange?"

"What?" asked Akira, irritated.

"That's not important now. We have to get Eldoradimon back into the Digi world as soon as possible!" growled Wanyamon.

"Okay. I'm looking for a possibility," Izzy said, "You're going back home in the meantime."

"But!" exclaimed Davis.

"No buts. None of you are familiar with computers. You can't help me. That's why go home and rest," Tentomon's partner decided.

"Uh... And where should I go?" was Dorumon's question: "It's the first time I've been in your world."

"You can come with us," replied the red-brown-haired man.

"But I don't know you... and I am afraid of you people. They say you hate digimon."

"Don't worry. I'm a DigiDestined. And all digimon are my friends!" smiled Davis.

"That wouldn't be a good idea, Davis," Matt disagreed with his suggestion: "Your parents don't know you're a DigiDestiend... And you don't want to tell them."

"I'd love to go with Agumon," the purple digimon said.

"But I don't want that!" exclaimed Agumon: "Not that you tell me that Tai is a bad person. He's not!"

"He can stay with me," Izzy said, before his gaze fell on Akira and Wanyamon: "Excuse me if I ask. Who are you?"

"Wanyamon...", the in-training digimon introduced himself: "And this is my partner Akira."

" I'm Izzy Izumi and this is my partner Tentomon," the redhead replied, pointing his hand at his partner: "Anyway. I am now looking for a way to bring Eldoradimon back to the digital world."

He looked rigidly at the screen of his computer and searched for a way to help him. The others said goodbye to him, but Izzy and Tentomon did not notice, as they were again fully immersed in their research.

"Well, then. I'm going to Shibuya now," Akira said to Tai and his friends: "See you soon. But before I forget it. Could I have your numbers?"

"Sure," Tai replied, before all her numbers were written on a piece of paper and then given to her.

"Thank you. Here's my number," she handed them a business card from Shin.

"Huh?" Davis said, astonished: "What should we do with a business card?"

"There's the number on it. Just call the home number," Akira explained.

"Good," Matt nodded.

She smiled and walked home with Wanyamon on her head. On the way home, she approached her partner, but he remained silent. He was too concerned with the idea that he just couldn't help Eldoradimon. After about half an hour's walk and use of trains, she reached Shibuya district and her sister's house. She knocked on the door a few times, which was then opened by Shin.

"Akira? Where were you?" he asked.

"In the digital world. I'll explain it to you right away," she said when she saw a Digimon in the apartment: "Who is that?"

She raised an eyebrow and pointed her index finger at the digimon.

"This is Falcomon. He... is an old friend of mine and Sera," the man explained.

"I see." she said.

"Come in first. You are certainly exhausted."

"Good idea," she nodded to him, stepped into the apartment and took off her shoes.  
Then she followed Shin to the living room, where Sera was already sitting at the table and watching the news. Falcomon himself also looked at the TV.

"Sis," Akira said.

"Sht," she said, "There are news."

Sera actually liked to watch news. Her younger sister sat down with her before Wanyamon jumped from her head onto the tabletop. Shin also joined in and everyone listened eagerly to the news. The headline was: Invasion of the digimon. Does it have anything to do with the events of a year ago?

"We are currently reporting on the events of a gigantic digimon that appeared in the port of Tokyo," the reporter said.

"As we could see, there were several digimon on the big one," the correspondent reported: "One of the digimon, a white snake, had tried to attack the helicopter in which we were sitting. Another knight-like digimon joined and both withdrew. What we also saw was that the digimon took four teenagers' hostage. These youths were then sent away from the digimon. Probably more people are in the custody of the digimon."

"How do you assess the situation?"

"As long as this gigantic digimon or the others do not attack us, the military can free the captured people."

"That's nothing but a lie!" Akira shouted angrily, standing up and banging her fist on the table: "Eldoradimon and the others are peace-loving!"

"Akira. Calm down," her older sister tried to reassure her: "There's no point in you getting upset."

"I know... But-"

"These people are wrong!" Wanyamon growled: "Quetzalmon would only act according to our command. And even if... She is far too clever to attack people for no reason!"

"We understand your anger... But you must keep a cool head," Shin said.

"Tch..." said the in-training digimon.

"The important thing is that we don't act hastily," Falcomon replied: "Gizmon... Eldoradimon..."

"What's going on with him?" asked Akira.

"He's thinking," her sister said.

"Ah!" the bird said: "The scientists want to use the Gizmon to kill Eldoradimon! This make them heroes and so they gain even more influence!"

Suddenly the phone rang.

"I'll answer it," Akira said, and went into the hallway, where she picked up the listener: "Tanaka?"

"Akira! Izzy has an idea," Meiko replied, "Come to the port."

"Great. See you soon, Meiko."

Akira turned the phone off and then shouted,

"I have to go to the port! Wanyamon, are you coming?"

"Okay!" he replied to her, hopping into the hallway.

Sera was just as quick in the hallway and asked her sister,

"Where are you going, Akira?"

"To the port. A... Someone knows how to bring Eldoradimon back to the digital world."

"Don't do anything dangerous, Akira."

"I know," she said, donning her shoes.

Then she rushed away. In a nearby park, Wanyamon digivolved to its ultimate-level so that they could get to the port even faster. Despite the rapid pace of flight, they were the last to reach the port. From the air she could see that several people and digimon were there. Some they didn't even know them. When Dynasmon landed, Akira apologized for the delay, but Tai waved off.

"So, what's the idea now?" asked Mimi.

"We all digivolve to our highest level and then fuse with Omnimon," Tentomon explained: "In theory, the distortion should be so great that Eldoradimon fits through. In addition, Akira's partner could also help us, as he can also create distortions himself."

"Then don't wait, but act!" shouted Dorumon, dancing nervously back and forth.

"Don't be so naughty," Gatomon raved: "Otherwise, I'll scratch your eyes."

"Gatomon," Kari said reproachfully.

Her partner then apologized.

"But we really should act now," Armadillomon said.

"Good," Izzy said, "Everyone! Digivolve to your highest level!"

"Okay!" everyone shouted unison.

"Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"

"Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!"

"Biyomon warp-digivolve to... Phoenixmon!"

"Tentomon warp-digivolve to... HerculesKabuterimon!"

"Gomamon warp-digivolve to... Vikemon!"

"Palmon warp-digivolve to... Rosemon!"

"Patamon warp-digivolve to... Seraphimon!"

"Gatomon warp-digivolve to... Magnadramon!"

"Veemon digivolve to... ExVeemon!"

"Hawkmon digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"Armadillomon digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

"Wormmon digivolve to... Stingmon!"

"Hackmon warp-digivolve to... SaviorHackmon!"

"Dorumon warp-digivolve to... DoruGremon!"

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon as well as ExVeemon and Stingmon began to wrap themselves in a light. However, while the former two were able to successfully fuse and form Omnimon, ExVeemon felt a stinging pain in the chest, thus stopping the fusion progress. Heavy breathing, Davis' partner sank to his knees.

"What's going on, ExVeemon?" Stingmon asked him.

"No idea..." he replied.

"Let's try again."

"Okay. ExVeemon...

"Stingmon..."

"DNA digivolution to...", both shouted in unison, but a few seconds later ExVeemon again let out a cry of pain.

"Why doesn't it work, ExVeemon?" was Davis's question.

"I don't know... But when we wanted to fuse, I felt a stinging pain in the chest... As if someone had pierced me with a sword."

"Stingmon, do you feel that too?" asked Ken.

"Not at all," his partner denied.

"Strange..." the red-brown-haired man tilted his head to the side.

"Doesn't matter," Vikemon exclaimed.

"We should try to fuse with Omnimon now!" said Phoenixmon.

All the partners except Dynasmon and SaviorHackmon lined up in a circle around Omnimon before closing their eyes and breathing deeply. The DigiDestined watched the scene with interest. But after a minute, nothing happened. Nothing happened. No sign that the partner digimon fused with Omnimon.

"I thought it would work," HerculesKabuterimon Said.

"Didn't work," Rosemon replied.

Dynasmon flew to the fused knight and looked at him.

"Then we two of us will try it alone," Akira's partner said.

'It's not going to work. The two of us would not be able to create a distortion of such magnitude," Omnimon said.

"We should at least try it!"

"Dynasmon. It will do nothing except waste our strength."

"Tch. Do you really think I'm letting Quetzalmon and the others down? Do you think so, Omnimon?!" he growled angrily.

"There is nothing we can do, Dynasmon." the fused knight sighed, before turning to Izzy: "Izzy, do you have another idea like we can bring Eldoradimon back to the digital world."

"Hm..." the redhead quickly typed something into his computer.

"How about using our digivices," Yolei suggested, "I mean we can create distortions, can we?"

"Yes... However, it is very risky."

"Let's do it!" Akira shouted to Tai, Matt, Meiko and Davis, "Wait a minute. Your digivice could cause distortions?! Why didn't you do it when we were in the digital world?!"

"Unfortunately, it only works in one direction," the blonde-haired man replied.

"That means that while we can create distortions that lead to the Digi world, we can't," Meiko's friend explained.

"And why is this risky if we use this method?" asked Akira. "First of all, we could be drawn into the distortion," said Izzy, "and secondly, other digimon could inadvertently enter this world."

"But we have to take this risk!" raved Dynasmon.

"Then we'll try," Kari said, looking at Eldoradimon and terrified.

Several Gizmon had circled the digimon and attacked the inhabitants.

"Damn! Time is running out," ExVeemon hissed, flapping with his white wings.

Furious, Akira's partner flapped his wings and raced towards the Gizmon. He was closely followed by DoruGremon and SaviorHackmon. Both were also angry. Apart from Ankylomon, who could not fly, the other partners rushed after the three. They distributed and supported the digimon in the fight against the gizmons.

"Starlight Explosion!" cried Phoenixmon, creating several fireballs that she fired at her opponents.

Then the phoenix flew higher into the air and shot fire out of her beack on a Gizmon. When she tried to attack another, Magnadramon snaked in front of her, creating a fire tornado. Afterwards, the pink dragon flew briefly in a circle before several lightning strikes on the opponents.

Meanwhile, Seraphimon and Omnimon dodged several energy lasers.

"Giga Cannon!" the fused knight pointed his cannon at a Gizmon and fired an energy ball at it.

"Strike of the Seven Starlights!", the angel digimon created seven small spheres between his hands and then hurled them at one of the opponents.

Omnimon crossed his arms and released a wave of energy on his opponents before Seraphimon pulled a purple blade out of his right arm guard, cutting a Gizmon into half.

While the two defended Eldoradimon on the west side, Aquilamon, Stingmon, HerculesKabuterimon and Rosemon attacked the Gizmon on the east side.

The bird attacked the opponents with energy rings, which he fired from his beak. Then he pierced a Gizmon with his two horns. Another opponent appeared behind Aquilamon, but Stingmon rammed his sword into it before hurling a Gizmon through the air with a kick several meters.

Rosemon took the chance and attacked it with a thorn whip. Then she fired an energy charge made of roses on a group of ten Gizmon. Meanwhile, HerculesKabuterimon created an electrically charged sphere and threw it on five Gizmon. He then rammed the top of his horn into an opponent.

On the north side, Dynasmon closed his eyes after rising into the air. His eyelids reopened and energy gathered in his right hand before shooting to the water and slapping his hand on the surface. A huge wave of energy was generated and captured almost all the gizmons on this site.

"I kind of feel useless now," SaviorHackmon said, before defeating a Gizmon with a kick.

Then he attacked another opponent with his red swords, which cut it open. Meanwhile, DoruGremon had pierced a Gizmon with his tail tip. Eventually, he fired a metal ball at the enemy.

On the south side, Quetzalmon snaked through the ranks of Gizmon, trying to freeze them with an ice-cold wave. But she had serious problems. So Vikemon had to intervene, who froze several Gizmon with his attack Arctic Blizzard and then let the ice with his morning stars break. He then attacked several opponents with his morning stars. ExVeemon himself cut a Gizmon that was about to attack Quetzalmon with its tentacles.

"Pay attention!" he warned her.

"Thank you very much," the white snake replied.

"What's your name?" the blue dragon man asked.

"Quetzalmon."

"Quetzalmon..." he repeated.

Somehow, the name seemed familiar to him. But he didn't know where. It suddenly occurred to him that he had met her before. But where? Where had he met her?

"Watch out!" cried Quetzalmon, pushing ExVeemon aside.

An energy laser swiped her side and shot directly at a Piximon, which dissolved into data in a loud scream. The white snake itself shook up and its body slackened before falling to the ground. The blue dragon man shot after her and was able to catch her.

"Hold on," he said.

"Somehow I knew that I... would die today...", she quid: "Thank you... that you are with me... Then I don't die... alone..."

"Don't give up!"

"I would have... liked to get... to know you…" she closed her eyes and breathed sharply: "We would have... understood..."

"Damn it! Don't give up!" he shouted, angrily clenching his teeth: "If you die right here you can't be reborn!"

He didn't want that the white snake died in his arms. He didn't want that! But he knew that a shot from a Gizmon was fatal.

"I know…", she gasped.

Quetzalmon reopened her eyelids. Because of her pain, she began to hallucinate, because she no longer saw ExVeemon, but someone else. Hey eyes showed joy and yet they watered. Happiness filled her to be able to be with _him_ again. _Him _who she swore to serve him. But she knew one thing.

"Don't give up, Quetzalmon!", he said again.

"I am happy to be at your side again. I am truly happy, Sir Ma-," she didn't get any further, because she turned into a thousand pieces of data.

"Quetzalmon…", his eyes widened, filling it with tears.

Eventually he shouted painfully,

"Quetzalmon!"

From his corners of his eyes, he noticed a Gizmon. With anger, he smashed the lens of the Digimon with his fist. After that he destroyed another one with a kick.

While the partners were fighting, the DigiDestined and Ankylomon just watched. Ankylomon himself was angry that he couldn't do anything. Frustrated, he turned to Armadillomon and sighed heavily. His partner Cody knelt and stroked him over the head.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, Armadillomon," his partner said.

"I'm not reproached, Cody," he replied.

Akira herself suddenly noticed something.

"Quetzalmon..." she said.

"What's going on, Akira?" Tai asked her.

"Quetzalmon was killed."

"What?!" shouted Matt.

"No.", Meiko held her hands in front of her mouth as her eyes widened.

Suddenly, the DigiDestined noticed that something was shining. The remaining Gizmon remained in their current positions before one began to emit a light. A few more Gizmon also started producing the light until everyone did it.

"What's going on here?" was Mimi's question.

"No idea, but I don't like it at all," Ken raved.

"Izzy! What are they doing?" asked Sora.

The person in question stared at his computer.

"The Gizmon are sending each other a signal..." Izzy explained, "But I don't know why."

"Our Digimon should continue to attack the Gizmon!" cried Davis.

"They don't know what to do now," Joe said.

"And what now?" was T.K.'s question.

"Wait," Yolei replied.

"But we can't just watch them doing something!" cried Kari.

"Kari... We don't know what's going on," Tai said.

"And that's why we have to wait," Matt continued.

"But," Tai's sister replied.

"Kari,"" Meiko interrupted her: "We have to wait."

The brown-haired woman looked at her and bit her lower lip.

Meanwhile, the Gizmon kept sending light signals to each other. Doc Kato Azuma and his colleagues stood on an elevated level. Kato himself smiled while one of his colleagues held a computer in his hands. In the scientist's hand was a kind of stick with a red button at one end. He finally pressed it. All the Gizmon flew into the air and merged into a gigantic Gizmon.

"Everything is going according to our plan. As a bonus, we will even be able to destroy the DigiDestined partner," Kato said: "Do it, Gizmon XT. Destroy Eldoradimon and all digimon here!"

One of Kato's colleagues typed something into the computer. Gizmon-XT flew over to Eldoradimon and collected energy in its lens. As if Omnimon had guessed it, he shouted out loud:

"Withdrawal! This Gizmon will destroy everything in a certain radius!"

Dynasmon, too, seemed to have a clue, as he shouted almost the same to SaviorHackmon and DoruGremon. The dragon man quickly flew to the other partners and warned them, while DoruGremon brought himself to safety. The partner also fled, but Akira's partner took a quick look at Eldoradimon and the rest of the inhabitants, who had panicked.

"I'm sorry," Dynasmon said, looking forward again and then closing his eyes.

Finally, Gizmon-XT fired a powerful power beam right into the center of Eldoradimon. His head bowed into the air, while a painful scream rang out from his open mouth. The scream echoed for several seconds until Eldoradimon was completely pierced by the beam. Then he dissolved and all the inhabitants into data that Gizmon-XT absorbed.

Meanwhile, all partners landed in front of their DigiDestined and digivolved exhausted to their in-training levels. DoruGremon himself kept his level a little bit before he returned to his rookie-level. The Digiritters lifted up their partners and looked at the spot where Eldoradimon was still standing half a minute ago.

"Eldoradimon..." Kari said, looking at Nyaromon, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

"We couldn't save him," Meiko said, depressed, strocking her partner's fur.

He hadn't fallen asleep yet, but he seemed to be immersed in thoughts.

"Meiko..." Tai said.

"Tai!" cried Koromon, "I'm hungry!"

"Can't you think for one second about food?!" he yelled at him.

"Sorry..." he replied.

"Damn... If only I had been faster then I could have saved them," Izzy began.

"There's no point in you now making accusations, Izzy," Sora interrupted him.

"Sora is right. Eldoradimon and his inhabitants are now dead...", Joe looked at Bukamon, who had also fallen asleep.

"And this Kato guy and his comrades are now a heroes," Akira raved.

"Because they controlled the Gizmon?" asked Cody.

"Exactly," T.K. confirmed.

"What are we actually doing now against this Gizmon?" was Ken's question.

"We destroy it, of course. Such a digimon must not exist!" cried Yolei.

"And how?" asked Mimi.

"No idea," Matt admitted, "but I slowly doubt whether this is a digimon at all."

"In any case, we should go now..." Dorumon said, "We are all exhausted from the struggle and need rest."

"You're right," Armadillomon agreed, "We really should go."

Everyone wanted to make their way, but DemiVeemon freed himself from Davis' arms and hopped to the shore. He looked out at the sea while Davis joined him.

"What's wrong, DemiVeemon?" was his question.

"Have we ever met a digimon named Quetzalmon?" he asked.

"You remember everything we have experienced... So why are you asking that?"

DemiVeemon started crying over a digimon he didn't know.

"DemiVeemon.", again his partner took him into his arms.

"I… can't help it. I cry because she died! I don't even know why!", the little blue dragon screamed while tears were running down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry.", Davis said.

"I wanted to save her! I really did! But I could only watch as she died in my arms!"

„DemiVeemon."

He wept and cried. Suddenly DemiVeemon heard how Tai asked them about something and Davis answering him. But he didn't care. To great was his mourning.

After a minute or so the little blue dragon said,

"It's strange."

"What is strange?", asked his partner.

"She said that she was happy to be at my side again. And then she began to call me by another name. But she died before she could finish it.", he explained.

"Maybe she imagined some things?"

"I don't know… But I know one thing. I will never ever forget her!"


	17. Chapter 17 - Light and Justice

Chapter 17 – Light and Justice

Uneasy, Kari turned around in her bed. She just saw Nyaromon wagging her tail. Then the little digimon yawned and cuddled up to Kari's chest.

"Is there anything, Kari?" asked Nyaromon.

"I can't understand my brother... He just changed like that..." she sighed and turned around, so her partner was now on her back.

"Kari... It hurts me when you treat me like that."

The brown-haired woman turned around again and looked into her partner's brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, Nyaromon," Kari said.

She closed her eyes, one hand resting on the yellow fur of the in-training digimon. Then she sighed and reopened the lids. She gently stroked over the soft fur and simply enjoyed how fluffy it was.

Once again, Kari closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep. She just dreamed of someone calling her. In the dream, she wondered if it was the Homeostasis. She knew this being, which radiates a warm aura. But then she heard eerie voices singing an even more eerie song.

"_Come, our Queen. We will take you with us. Into a land of magic! Come on, our Queen. The time has come. Become our queen!_" they said in her dream.

Again and again. The melody sounded enchanting and yet also eerie. It sounded tempting yet dangerous.

The next morning Kari was like another person. She was silent all the time, but when she was approached, she became angry and shouted at her brother to leave her alone or he knew nothing about her.

Gatomon, who was able to return to her adult-level that night, was also worried and addressed her. But the brown-haired woman also reacted aggressively to her. A short time later, Kari left the apartment and went to school.

"I'm worried about her," her partner said, looking at Agumon.

"Me too," he replied, "She seemed like she had been replaced."

"And normally she wouldn't react so aggressively," Tai said, taking a piece of scrambled eggs between the chopsticks.

Then he brought the chopsticks to his mouth and ate the egg.

"I'm going to watch them. It's not the first time she's reacted like this," Gatomon said, referring to an event from four years ago.

At that time Kari was called to the sea of darkness by eerie figures. She had been behaving strange for a couple of days and seemed like she had been replaced. In this sea, Kari encountered Divermon, which they wanted to make their queen. Just because she didn't want to leave the eerie figures alone. Did the characters want to call them again?

The cat-digimon jumped off the table and went through the cat flap into the open. She knew exactly where Kari's school was. She went to school with T.K., Davis and Cody. T.K. and Davis were in her class. Cody himself, however, in another, because he was younger than her. He was just thirteen years old, two years younger than T.K., Davis and Kari. That's why he was smaller than his friends, but he didn't care. Cody himself was much wiser and more grown-up than, say, T.K. or Tai, and was a rational thinker.

When Kari was sitting in class, she didn't notice anyone, not even the teacher. He asked her a little, but she did not answer, which made the teacher angry.

"Yagami! Answer the question!" the teacher said.

The brown-haired woman stood up and asked,

"Sorry. What did they say?"

"Are you not doing well, Kari?" T.K. whispered to her, "You look pale."

"Takaishi, if you have something to say in front of the class, just get out of it," the teacher reprimanded him.

"Sorry. I just asked Kari if she was okay..." the blonde-haired man explained.

"And why are you asking that?"

"I've known her since I was little."

"I see..." he said.

Meanwhile, Kari stood up.

"May I go to the hospital room? I don't feel so good," she said.

"Okay, but Takaishi should accompany you," the teacher decided.

She nodded at him before she slammed into the door. She would have fell to the ground, but T.K. had been fast enough to catch her. As a precaution, he put his hand on her forehead. Strange. She didn't have a fever, but she behaved as if she had it.

Kari thanked him and let himself be led to the hospital room without resistance. Once there, Cody was just being treated. The doctor, a friendly and old lady, smiled at him before noticing that two people were entering the room.

"I'll take care of you right away," she said, briefly tying the thirteen-year-old's arm: "That might be enough. Rest a little."

"Thank you very much," Cody replied, looking briefly at the bandage after leaning back into the chair.

"Yagami? What's going on?" the doctor asked, pointing to a bed: "Sit down."

She knew full well that the brown-haired woman was sometimes very weak. This was due to a heart defect that Kari has. Sometimes her heart beat very irregularly, which is why she had weak seizures.

"I am well..." replied the brown-haired woman.

"Yagami, I know you," she said, "You have a weak heart and you don't cope with some things so well. Are you not feeling well?"

"Yes..." she replied.

"Good... I'll give you the needed medicine right away," the doctor went to a closet and picked up the medicine.

Meanwhile, Kari lay down and closed her eyes. T.K. himself stood next to her. A worried face was reflected on his face. What was going on with her again?

"Is everything okay with Kari, T.K.?" asked Cody, who stood up to see what was going on with Tai's younger sister.

The doctor came back, holding a bottle of medicine in one hand and a spoon in the other.

"You'll be better in a few minutes, Yagami," she said, opening the bottle.

She poured the substance on the spoon, while Kari straightened up and then took the medicine.

"Just rest, Yagami," the doctor instructed her: "Oh right, Hida. I've spoken with your mother, she can't pick you up."

"They shouldn't treat me like a child," Cody said, sighing.

"Sorry."

"What exactly happened, Cody?" was T.K.'s question.

"I fell and it was assumed that my arm was broken, which fortunately is not the case," he said.

"You're lucky," replied the blonde-haired man.

"Takaishi, Hida, I'm reluctant to interrupt you, but you should go back to class," the doctor said.

"Okay... I'll come to you at the break, Kari," he went back to her and smiled at her.

But she did not respond to him, because she had already fallen asleep. T.K. sighed and left the hospital room with Cody and a bow.

* * *

During the break, T.K., Davis and Cody talked about Kari's health. Everyone was worried about her. That's why they visited her in the hospital room. She was still asleep, and the doctor told them to be quiet. That's why they went back to the schoolyard. However, a short time later, Cody noticed Gatomon hiding in a tree.

"Gatomon," he said, and went to the tree.

His friends also rushed to the tree.

"Hello. Something is wrong with Kari," she said, "It was like when she disappeared."

"Then we should have an eye on her!" Davis decided: "I'll go back to the hospital room-"

"The doctor said we should leave her alone," T.K. interrupted him.

"Oh yes!" the red-brown-haired man snorted at him: "If she disappears again, it's your fault."

"And you know very well that Kari is sometimes very frail!"

"Hey, hey! Stop it, you two!" the thirteen-year-old stepped in and stood between the two.

Because he knew they were going to start a fierce argument.

Suddenly Kari was tormenting behind them. Davis was the first to notice it and rushed to her.

"Kari? Shouldn't you be in the hospital room? Or are you better off? Yes!", he nodded briefly: "You're better off again. I'm happy about that."

She ignored him and wanted to move on.

"Kari?" asked Gatomon, jumping from the tree right in front of her: "Is everything okay?"

"Yes..." she replied monotonously: "I'm fine."

"You're not doing well," T.K. said, reaching for her arm: "You're completely. Rest."

"No. I'm fine," she insisted.

"You're really not doing well, Kari. Don't overestimate yourself," Cody said, worried.

"I want to see the sea," Kari began to move again.

"The sea?" her partner repeated: "You're way too exhausted."

"I want to see the sea, Gatomon... It gives me strength."

"But then we will accompany you," smiled the red-brown-haired man, his hands crossed behind his head.

"I want to see the sea on my own," she said.

"If you're not careful, you'll be run over by a car!" shouted Gatomon: "Come on. We are your friends. That's why we want to help you."

"Okay... If you insist," said the brown-haired woman.

Together they left the school grounds, crossed the road and went to the beach. The sea roared gently. Kari looked at the power of nature with gloomy eyes. Coincidentally, there was also Armadillomon on the beach, which joined the group.

"What are you doing here?" the armadillo asked.

"Kari wanted to go to the beach," his partner explained.

"Hm... But she doesn't look good at all," Armadillomon said.

Suddenly the brown-haired woman began to sing:

"_Come on, our queen. We will take you with us. Into a land of magic! Come on, our Queen. The time has come. Become our queen_!"

Again and again she sang these lines, while her body dissolved more and more.

"Kari!" the thirteen-year-old shouted in horror, touching her arm.

"What's going on?" asked Davis.

"It's happened before," T.K. said.

Armadillomon stunned his partner while Gatomon jumped on her head.

"Kari!" she said in panic.

She did not respond. Suddenly, she, her partner, Cody and his partner, disappeared from the sight of their remaining friends.

"What?!" the red-brown-haired man said in shock: "What just happened?"

"They traveled in a different world," T.K. said, "I call home so Patamon can come here."

"Wait a minute. That has happened before, hasn't it?" he tilted his head to the side.

"Yes. Me, Patamon and Gatomon were looking for her here on the beach.", the blond-haired man looked at the sea: "Back then we called her and so a gate to another world was opened."

"This time it's just like that, isn't it? We have to go into this world!" Davis exclaimed, holding up his digivice in the air: "Open up! Gateway to the world in which Kari went!"

"It's not going to work," T.K. said.

"Do you have a better idea?!"

"First contact Izzy... He will certainly have an idea how to get into this world."

The red-brown-haired man grumbled and put his digivice back in his pocket. Then the blonde-haired called Izzy and then at his home.

* * *

Cody opened his eyes with difficulty. Next to him stood Armadillomon, who had been trying to wake him up for a while. When the thirteen-year-old rose, he did not believe his eyes. Everything was so grey and scary. A grey sea roared, and, in the distance, there was a lighthouse that cast a black light.

Cody was looking for Kari, who stood a few meters away and looked out at the sea. Next to her was Gatomon, who was trying to get her attention. She hopped up and down in front of her. But it didn't work. Kari started singing this song again.

The cat-digimon sighed heavily and looked to the side. She smiled a little, because she saw Cody and Armadillomon running at her. They came to a stop and looked at the brown-haired, then they looked at Gatomon.

"Where are we?" the armadillo asked.

"We are in the Dark Ocean," the cat explained, "I've been here twice."

"We definitely shouldn't stay here... I feel bad," Cody said.

"Yes. But no matter what I do, Kari doesn't react to me," Gatomon sighed.

"Now I'm here. Together we could take Kari away here."

"Good."

With combined forces, they somehow managed to get the brown-haired woman away from the sea to a nearby city. It seemed completely ruined. The houses were partially at risk of collapse and sometimes Cody even thought he could see gloomy figures between the alleys.

Eventually a simple house was found, but the thirteen-year-old felt that it wasn't safe here either. But what could he do? A little later, everyone except Kari sat on the floor. The brown-haired woman herself looked out the window at the sea and muttered some things to herself.

"What are we doing now?" asked Armadillomon: "I want to go back..."

"Me too. But I have no idea how," Gatomon sighed.

"And we have to kind of bring Kari back into reality," Cody said.

All three sighed and looked at her. She was still watching the sea. Suddenly it knocked on the door. Gatomon floundered while Armadillomon hid anxiously behind his partner. The thirteen-year-old's eyes were wide open, and he breathed in and out uneasily. The door was ripped open and several dark figures entered. They didn't seem to be from any matter.

"What are they?!" was Cody's question.

"I've seen them before... They wanted to make Kari their queen!" said Gatomon.

"Doesn't matter... Digimental of knowledge, beam!" the thirteen-year-old summoned the Digimental.

"Armadillomon armor-digivolved to... Digmon!" his partner shouted: "Gold Rush!"

In doing so, Digmon fired all his drills from the body onto the dark figures.

"Kari! I have to digivolve as well!" said Gatomon: "Let's do it!"

But she still didn't respond. Determinedly, she bit Kari's hand. With a sound of pain, her eyes widened and she looked through the area in amazement.

"Where am I?" she asked, confused.

"Not now. I must digivolve, Kari! Best to my ultimate-level!," her partner said.

"Okay," she took her Digivice out of her skirt pocket.

"Gatomon warp-digivolved to... Magnadramon!"

The dark figures were pushed back by the light of digivolution alone. Magnadramon shot out at the house because it was too big for her, and spit fire on the rest of the figures. Digmon himself also went out of the house and thrust his drills into the ground, which were renewed after each attack.

"Rock Cracking!" the earth became brittle and the figures fell into a hole.

But the more figures dissolved, the more came.

"To the sea!" cried the pink dragon after she had ejected a boiling hot mist.

"Okay!" Cody confirmed her words, and everyone fled to the sea.

"And what do we want there now, Magnadramon?" asked Digmon.

"We can fight better here!" she said, flying into the air, causing several lightning strikes.

The figures were struck by the lightning and dissolved, but more came. Kari got down on her knees and held her head as if she was in pain.

"It doesn't help," she sobbed: "They keep coming back. They want to make me their queen! They call me! They want me to rule over them! I don't want that!"

"Kari?!" Cody turned to her in horror: "Calm down."

"They call me. Tai... T.K... Help me... I don't want to be with them!" she began to cry, repeatedly crying for her brother and T.K.

"Calm down, Kari!" the thirteen-year-old shouted.

"Kari!" her partner shouted, before she saw a spear racing on her.

One of her eight wings was pierced by the spear, causing her to slam to the ground.

"Argh!" she screamed out loud.

"Golden Ru- Argh!", Digmon was also hit by a spear on the shoulder: /Why am I just so weak? I can't protect anyone like that... Cody.../

"Digmon!" cried Cody, rushing to him: "Come on, you can do it!"

The dark figures approached them and the thirteen-year-old had to deal with the fear. Desperately, he shook his partner so that he could continue to fight. But this one remained.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked himself, "There's no point! No! I can't think of that! I must not give up! But... Digmon, Magnadramon... You can't do it anymore."

Suddenly, a gigantic red-strapped crocodile with two tails shot out of the water. It landed on the sand and angrily snarled at the dark figures. Then it fired a ray of energy at some of the figures. These dissolved, but they did not renew.

"It's the king!" said one of the figures, panicking.

"Run! Flee!" said another, before all the dark figures fled to the city.

The crocodile turned to the humans and digimon and growled:

"You dare enter my kingdom?!"

"Wait," Cody exclaimed, "We got here by accident!"

"It's true," Magnadramon said, "Kari was called by these figures."

"Nothing but lies!" the crocodile raved: "You want to take away my kingdom like these figures!"

"We don't want that," Digmon said, "Believe us!"

"I'm supposed to believe the word of two serum digimon and one human?!" he growled angrily: "Well... Free me from this Black Ring, then I will believe you."

Kari also rose and looked at the crocodile. Then she saw a black ring on one of his tails. Carefully she went to him and inspected the ring. It already cut into the flesh of the digimon. Nevertheless, she tried to remove the Black Ring. But it didn't work out.

"I'm sorry, but it doesn't work," she said.

"Tch," the crocodile said, hitting the ground with its tails: "Since I have this ring, I have been in pain."

"I have an idea," Cody said, "you just have to keep your tails up. As long as you can. As a result, less blood is brought into the tails and the muscles narrow. After that, we can remove the ring."

"If you think it works," the crocodile lifted his tails.

After a good thirty seconds, he let them sink again. Carefully, the brown-haired woman removed the ring and dropped it to the ground before destroying it with her foot.

"Here we go," Kari said, smiling at him: "The ring is gone."

The crocodile moved its tail in front of the long muzzle and examined it.

"Good... As I said. I now believe you that you do not want to take away my kingdom from me," he nodded to them.

"Who are you?" asked Magnadramon.

"My name is Leviamon..." he paused briefly: "I was once a member of the Demon Lords."

"Demon Lords?" they all repeated.

"Did the digital world have a few reboots?" asked Leviamon.

"Yes," Kari confirmed.

"I see.", the crocodile closed his eyes: "The Demon Lords had once tried to subdue the digital world... But were defeated. I was able to escape to the Dark Ocean, and since none of them had dared to come here, I stayed here."

"What happened to the others?" was Cody's question.

"I don't know. I don't care about them either... However, a while ago I was able to look at your world because a distortion had opened... You banished one of the Demon Lords here, didn't you?"

"We still don't really understand you," Kari admitted.

"Never mind then. But be careful about this Demon Lord who has been banished here. He will probably try to attack you again at some point," Leviamon said.

"Ah! Now I know!" the thirteen-year-old said: "Deemon. Deemon is likely to be the one, right? He was wearing a robe."

"Deemon... No wonder I didn't recognize him. The Deemon I know is not wearing a robe. But he is very strong. Beware of him," he warned her.

"Don't worry. We are DigiDestined! We have already defeated some enemies!" said Digmon euphorically.

"However, you should be careful. Deemon or even with a Demon Lord is hard to defeat," the crocodile replied.

"How many of you exists?" the brown-haired woman asked.

"Existed," Leviamon corrected her: "We were seven. I think there's only me and Deemon left. All the others were killed and their data was absorbed."

"Data absorbed?" repeated Magnadramon: "I thought no one could do anything like this except these Gizmon."

"It's strictly forbidden. When a digimon absorbs the data of others, it is killed, and as punishment its data is also being absorbed," the crocodile explained: "Even I have absorbed data. I have even heard of cases where the king of the digimon has personally hunted down such criminals."

"King Drasil, right?" suspected Kari.

"Yes..." the crocodile confirmed, gritting its teeth.

"Speaking of king," Cody began, "these dark figures have called you king..."

"I am the king of the digimon living here..." Leviamon said, "I rule over them and protect them from the dark figures."

"What are these figures?" was Magnadramon's question.

"I don't know," he sighed, "Anyway. Do you want to go back to your world?"

"Yes," everyone shouted unison.

"Good," he nodded briefly: "There's a place here where distortions regularly occur. You haven't been here for a long time, so you can go through it. But me and the digimon here can't do it."

"Why?" asked Digmon.

"A protective measure," said the crocodile: "Get on me, quickly. There is not much time left. If you stay here longer than one day, you cannot return."

"Okay.", the pink dragon closed her eyes and digivolved to her in-training level.

Digmon also returned to Armadillomon before jumping on Leviamon's back. The others also jumped on his back before the crocodile went into the water. Then he swam off in quick moves. Cody quickly noticed, however, that something had become stuck between his red scales. When he touched it, the object lit up, causing Leviamon to become frightened and briefly submerged.

"Sorry," he said, "I was terrified."

"Okay..." the thirteen-year-old replied, removing the object: "What is this?"

"A crest.", Kari's eyes widened with astonishment.

"Probably your crest, Cody," Nyaromon said.

"Wow... That's great. Then I can digitize to my perfect-level soon!" cried Armadillomon with delight.

The crocodile remained silent and swam even faster until its eyes on the water saw a distortion.

"There!" he said: "There's a distortion there. I'm going to throw you straight through it, okay?"

"But what will become of you?" was the question of the brown-haired.

"Don't worry. I like to live here. Here I am protected from King Drasil and them. And... Don't worry about these figures. They will not call you anymore. I scared them too much for that."

"Thank you," she sounded relieved.

"I have to thank," he braked, briefly throwing the DigiDestined and their partners from his back into the distortion: "Fare well!"

The four were swallowed by the distortion before Leviamon dived into the water. He swam through the grey sea for a while. Somehow, he was happy to meet these people and their Digimons, even though he believed that he would never see them again. Meanwhile, the four traveled back to their world, the real world, through the distortion. Suddenly, Armadillomon landed on someone.

"Ow!" Davis complained, "Can't you be careful?!"

"Kari!" T.K. exclaimed with delight and immediately hugged her.

"T.K.," she replied.

"We're back!" the armadillo rejoiced.

"Leviamon really brought us home," Nyaromon said.

Izzy, Tentomon and Dorumon looked at the four in disbelief. Suddenly a distortion had opened on the beach, where shortly afterwards Kari, Nyaromon, Cody and Armadillomon also appeared. The thirteen-year-old looked at the coat of arms, his coat of arms. He wondered what it meant.

"Izzy... What does the symbol mean?" he lifted up the object slightly.

"That?" the redhead asked, examining the symbol more closely: "I don't know."  
Dorumon approached and declared,

"This is the crest of justice."

"Wow. Then you have a crest, Cody!" said Davis, putting his hand on the boy's head.

"Where were you?" asked Tentomon.

"In the Dark Ocean," Nyaromon replied, "There we were persecuted by dark figures... until the king appeared."

"The King?" the insect repeated.

Meanwhile, Dorumon also listened to the in-training digimon.

"Yes... The king. He said he was once a Demon Lord," she continued.

"But Leviamon is very nice. He even helped us," Kari said.

"I don't quite understand it... But I'm glad you're back," smiled the purple digimon.

"Exactly," T.K. rejoiced, smiling at Kari.

She answered his smile happily.

"Do you think we're going to see Leviamon again?" asked Cody.

"Honestly, I don't think so..." his partner admitted.

"However. You can explain a lot to me," Izzy smiled: "I'm really excited."

"I also want to know about your little adventures," Tentomon said.

"Me too!" exclaimed Davis.

"Then we should go to me," the redhead suggested.

Everyone agreed and went to Izzy.

* * *

Leviamon swam straight through the grey sea. He was looking for Deemon, because if he wanted to attack the real world, he would show no mercy.

Suddenly, however, he felt the presence of one of them. Immediately the crocodile turned and swam to the shore. From afar, he saw a familiar figure. When Leviamon came to the land, he looked at this figure, which he had not seen for a long time. Angry, he hit his tails on the sandy, grey ground.

"What do you want here?" he growled.

"You gave too much informations," the digimon replied.

"So you knew from the beginning that I was here, am I right Alphamon?" he asked.

"Do you really think I'm so stupid, Leviamon?"

Leviamon recognized something between the thumbs and index fingers of the black knight. Without even asking, Alphamon replied,

"These are the remains of Apocalymon. I think Deemon would be happy if I gave it to him."

"What?" his eyes widened in horror, before he began to growl: "What happened to you, Alphamon? You would never help anyone like us!"

"I changed, you should know that best, Demon Lord."

In doing so, Alphamon attacked him. Leviamon was not very agile on the land, so he tried to save himself in the water. But the black knight was faster and thrust his OwRyuken blade into him.

"Grah!" Leviamon shouted before dissolving into data.

Alphamon watched the data a little before going in search of Deemon. He found him quite quickly and just as quickly the black knight disappeared in a distortion. He was pleased that everything went according to King Drasil's plan.


	18. Chapter 18 - Infiltration

Chapter 18 - Infiltration

She laughed happily when she managed to bring down Dynasmon with one single attack. Now she put a sword on his neck and giggled. The ultimate-level digimon growled in frustration and looked to the side. He had inadvertently given himself an opening, which she had immediately used.

"Do you always intentionally give yourself an opening, or does it just feel like that?" she asked him after she had pulled back her sword.

"Just feel like that," Dynasmon growled, straightening up.

Frustrated by the defeat, the ultimate-level digimon turned away and beat his wings powerfully.

"Are you angry again?" she sighed, entwining her arms in front of her chest: "We just trained. Don't be so frustrated when you lose."

"I'm frustrated because I would have died if this had been a real fight."

"But it was just training."

"That's why."

"You' can be really exhausting sometimes, you know that?" she sighed again, dropping her arms to the side.

"And you're really cruel sometimes, you know that?" he raved.

"Me and cruel?! What do you think?!"

"Well..." he rolled his eyes: "You always fight here with unjust means. Hostage-taking, torturing the opponents to the death... You're pretty, no... totally sadistic."

"I'm not sadistic. I'm just following my justice... Unjust means are sometimes necessary."

"After all, you're a virus type..."

"It has nothing to do with that!" she quipped.

"Oh yes. You virus types are always so cruel."

"That's not the case for everyone!"

"Right... Gallantmon is not cruel.", he flapped his wings and flew up: "But you are!"

"What?! I will show you how cruel I can be!"

"Maybe another time!"

With that, Dynasmon flew away.

* * *

"Hmph..." Wanyamon said, opening his eyes.

He looked out the window of Izzy's study place. The redhead himself once again sat behind his computer and typed something. Tentomon flew across the room and offered everyone snacks and drinks.

Still, there was a depressing feeling in the room. Nobody really dared to say anything. They all mourned Eldoradimon and its inhabitants, even though they had been dead for more than three days.

The whole group had gathered at Izzy once again. Wanyamon himself was still asleep until a few seconds ago because he hadn't sleep very much last night. He, his partner, Sera, Shin and Falcomon had a conversation yesterday deep into the night.

Since it was weekend Akira did not have to go to school let alone Shin to work. Now Wanyamon's partner was half asleep on the sofa. Next to Akira sat her older sister and her boyfriend Shin.

Both insisted on coming along because they were former DigiDestined and mourned Eldoradimon's death. They themselves had explained to the DigiDestined that they were also some, but had no contact with their partner. Many reacted in shock because they did not think there were older DigiDestined. Tai, however, reacted calmly because he had learned of Daigo Nishijima, who had died a year ago.

Falcomon was also in the room. He sat on the floor and looked silently at the "new" DigiDestined.

"Argh!" Yolei yelled at one point: "Say something, anything! I'm going to get mad!"

"We couldn't save Eldoradimon..." Dorumon said in a soft voice as he waved his tail slightly.

His expression seemed very sad and depressed. He seemed to be particularly concerned that they could not save Eldoradimon and the others. His ears and wings hung as if they had no power. The purple digimon growled quietly before lowering his head further and closing his eyes.

"Even after three days..." Agumon said, but interrupted.

DemiVeemon himself also seemed very depressed. He thought about Quetzalmon. Why exactly had she called him someone else in her last moment? However, he could only hear the first syllable of the name... Ma... MagnaAngemon? Magnadramon? Who exactly did she mean? But he didn't get rid of the feeling that he had somehow known her.

"What... are we doing now?" asked Hackmon, looking uncertainly at Meiko.

She shrugged.

"Can we even win against this digimon?" was Joe's question.

"Do you mean this gigantic Gizmon?" Matt asked him.

"Yes..."

"No idea... We need data," Izzy said.

"Is this thing even a digimon?" was Sora's question.

"No," Tentomon replied, "Gizmon is something like a machine."

"Hm... Machines that absorb the data of digimon..." Sera said, sighing heavily.

"Let's get back to the information... How can we get them?" was Shin's question.

"By searching and infiltrating the place of origin of the gizmon," said the redhead.

"What?!" Mimi said, terrified: "How are we supposed to find this place?!"

"A few days ago I found a virus on my computer. The data he had sent went to Shinjuku," Izzy said.

"Do you know where exactly?" asked T.K.

"No," the redhead shook his head.

"Hm... What if we check the Internet? I mean in the media is constantly reported about this Kato... By now, the place should be known, right?" said Cody.

"Good idea!" shouted Davis.

"I've been thinking about it... But the place is strictly secret... There is also a website... but it is password protected. I'm not getting in there," Izzy smashed the idea at the same time.

"What do we do then?" was Ken's question.

"We have to stop this Kato! He's just destroying digimon as if they were just objects!" cried Kari.

"Kari..." said Gatomon, putting her paw on her thigh.

"Hmph..." Akira, who had fallen asleep, said, "Why are you so loud?"

"We're just thinking about how we can infiltrate the place where the Gizmon were created," Shin explained.

"And how much do we know?" she asked.

"The place is located in Shinjuku. We don't know any more," Sera said.

"Hm... Hack... Hackmon..." Joe muttered to himself: "Hackmon... Hack... Part of Hackmon's name is Hack... more precisely from hacks... Couldn't he just hack into the website to find out the place?"

"Good idea," Mimi replied enthusiastically: "Try it, Hackmon."

"Huh? But I don't know how to hack," the four-footed dragon replied.

"It would have been too good," Matt said.

"Yeah..." Tai shrugged.

"I've got it!" suddenly Izzy shouted, "I have the exact address!"

"Great!" said Davis, "Then we all go there and destroy the whole building!"

"No," Wanyamon said, "We can't all go."

"That's right," Cody agreed with the in-training digimon.

"I suggest that only six people go into the building," Dorumon said.

"And who should go from us?" asked Yolei.

"I'll go. I want to know why he's changed so much. The Kato I know would never do anything like that," Falcomon raved, flapping his wings in anger.

"Surely we find a lot of information there," Gabumon said, "I definitely want to go along with it."

"If Gabumon goes, I'll go," Matt said.

"I want to go as well.", exclaimed Dorumon.

"I'm going too!" cried Davis, standing up.

Demonstratively, he had clenched a fist at chest level to show his determination.

"You? That's not a good idea, Davis," T.K. said.

"Why?!" the red-brown-haired man asked.

"Because you're reckless and hasty, that's why," Akira said.

"We're going, right DemiVeemon?" continued Davis.

"Hm..." he just said.

"DemiVeemon!"

"Hey? Yes, we should."

"Is there something wrong with you, DemiVeemon?" asked Biyomon.

"You are so absent... Did anything happen?" continued Sora.

"I'm still grieving over Quetzalmon..." the little blue dragon replied, "That's all."

"We also mourn for them..." said Meiko, depressed.

"But you seem to be grieving especially for Quetzalmon," Ken said.

"What's the reason for this?" was Mimi's question.

"I feel like I know Quetzalmon from somewhere," DemiVeemon admitted, "Did I ever meet her?"

"We don't know," Kari replied.

"Are we not somehow going off now?" growled Wanyamon.

"Yes, we do..." Dorumon agreed with him.

"But I want to go along so that DemiVeemon comes up with other thoughts," Davis said firmly.

"Fine," Tai sighed.

"Tai?!" Matt said, terrified.

"Don't worry. I'm going to take care of him," Falcomon said.

"Good... Then I'll give you the address," Izzy finally announced the address.

* * *

Matt, Gabumon, Davis, Veemon, Dorumon and Falcomon stood in front of a large building. It was guarded by two men standing in suits. The six had hid in bushes and quietly discussed how they got into the building.

"Tch... If Mr. Nishijima was still alive, we could use his help," said the blond-haired man, clenching his hands to fists.

"Maybe a distraction would be helpful." said the bird digimon.

"Then scream, Falcomon," Davis laughed.

"Are you crazy," Falcomon said.

"Get use to his stupid ideas.", sighed Matt.

"They are not stupid!", defended the teenager.

"Maybe you can pretend to be a worker in there, Matt.", suggested Dorumon.

"That's a good idea.", complimented Gabumon.

"Okay. I'll try.", the blond-haired man nodded and ducked through the bushes until he couldn't see the security guards anymore.

Then he came out of his hiding place and went to them. Before he did that he thought about a name to use it.

"What do you want here?" one of the security guards asked.

"My name is Daigo Nishijima. I come on behalf of the supreme mayor of Tokyo to review the research on the Gizmon," Matt said.

"You are not announced, Mr. Nishijima," the other security guard replied, "Go away."

"I can call my manager. He will not be pleased that you will not let me in," the blond-haired man said, "and I can make sure that you are terminated without notice."

Matt looked seriously between the two security guards. His heart pounded violently, while his face looked freezing cold. He only hoped that they would buy the story.

"Go away. Or I'll call the security," the security guard said.

"Don't you belong to security?" was Mr. Kawa's question, tilting his head to the side.

"We **are** belonging to them... But we're just guarding the entrance," the other security guard replied, "Go now!"

With a hand gesture, he shaved Matt away. He went back until he disappeared from the field of view of the two, jumped again behind the bush and ran ducked to the others.

"Didn't go very well," Veemon said.

"Visits are announced," the blond-haired man replied.

"What now? Does any of you have an idea like we come in?" asked Gabumon.

"Unfortunately no," Falcomon replied.

„I will cause a distraction.", said Dorumon confidently

"No.", Veemon disagreed: "You could be killed by a gizmon."

"Don't worry about me, Veemon. I can handle this. Do you remember? I've already killed several gizmon.", the purple digimon jumped out of the bushes right in front of the men.

"A Digimon!" shouted one of the men.

"Hello," he greeted them slightly bowing.

The security guards looked at each other in silence. They had never seen a digimon speak. But then they approached him with slow steps. Dorumon began to turn around and run away.

"After it!" one of the men shouted, "Don't let it escape."

The purple digimon continued to run while the others were able to enter the building. They saw a long hall that was a little glamorously decorated. There was nothing to suggest that the gizmon were created here. The group proceeded with slow steps, unsure where exactly they should go. After a while, they came to a halt in a hallway.

"It's unusually empty here. As if it were," Matt began.

"A trap," Veemon interrupted him.

His partner noticed that the blue dragon was unusually tense and also looked very cool.

"How do you come up with it?" asked Davis, unaware of how they got there.

"Normally, such buildings are fuller," the blond-haired man said.

"I see... So they might expect us," Falcomon said: "But we're ready,"

"We must not rush things..." said Matt: "When we meet people, you shouldn't digitize all of them... They'll probably use the gizmon."

"Don't worry. All the gizmon became one," said a well-known voice.

Kato stepped out of the shadows and walked into the group with slow steps and a smile on his lips. He himself wore a lab coat in his pockets.

"Kato!" shouted Falcomon and wanted to fly to him, but Gabumon stopped him by holding him by the arm.

"Do you know that the gizmon is in the digital world... I'm going to wipe out this black knight digimon.'

"Black Knight Digimon... Are you referring to Alphamon?" asked Gabumon.

"I see. So that's its name," Doc Azuma smiled.

"Hey! There's a reason Alphamon is like that!," Veemon exclaimed angrily.

"Veemon?" his partner said, because he didn't expect the blue dinosaur to defend Alphamon.

"Who cares," Kato made a hand gesture.

Several men surrounded the group. Inevitably, Matt's partners, Falcomon and Veemon began to growl.

"Gabumon digivolve to…," the reptile digimon shouted.

"No, Gabumon!" his partner intervened, grabbing him by the arm before whispering to him, "No."

"If we don't do anything, who knows what's going to happen!" he growled.

Kato, meanwhile, laughed out loud.

"It's hopeless..." he laughed: "Just give up..."

"Why?" the bird began to ask, "Why did you change so much?! Where is the boy I considered a friend?!"

"A friend?" Kato said in an eerie tone: "Do you really think we're still friends, Falcomon?"

"Of course! Kato! Look at me! I am your friend! And that will always be the case!," Falcomon shouted beside himself.

"You are no longer my friend and my partner, Falcomon... You're just a digimon who invaded here!" Doc Azuma walked slowly toward him, then he kicked him.

The bird screamed in horror as it was thrown to the ground. Meanwhile, Matt clenched his fists. How dare that Doc Azuma to hurt his partner? How dare he?

"That's enough!" shouted the blond-haired man, plunging at the scientist.

He brought him down with a punch to the face.

Kato laughed loudly, rising before wiping the blood from his corner of his mouth with his back.

Then he rushed to him and wanted to overthrow him. But Matt grabbed his wrist and within seconds he turned his whole arm.

"Argh!" Kato screamed angrily, before attacking the blond-haired man with his free fist.

The security men, the humans and the digimon watched idly as the two beat each other. After about half a minute, both of them stood on the floor with heavy breathing and trembling legs and looked at each other.

Matt's chest lifted and sank. Kato, too, seemed to have some injuries as well. Then Doc Azuma smiled viciously.

"Get them! Take them captive!" he ordered.

The men rushed to the DigiDestined and their digimon.

"Davis!" shouted Veemon.

"Good... DigiMental of Courage! Up!" Davis summoned the said DigiMental.

"Veemon armour-digivolved to... Flamedramon!"

"Didn't I say, no digivolutions?!" asked Matt.

"But we're in danger right now!" growled Gabumon: "Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!"

"Falcomon warp-digivolve to… Hippogriffomon!" with outstretched wings, the griffin looked at the people: "Matt, Davis. Get on my back," Hippogriffomon whispered, "I then shoot a hole in the roof, which allows us to escape."

"You don't think I'm just fleeing like that?!" Veemon's partner exclaimed angrily.

"Yes. We don't want to hurt anyone."

"He's right, Davis. We have to flee," said the blue dinosaur.

With his teeth crunching, he climbed on the back of the griffin. The blonde-haired man himself climbed onto his partner's back, while Flamedramon returned to Veemon before also jumping on MetalGarurumon's back.

"Heatwave!", Hippogriffomon fired several fireballs from his beak onto the ceiling, creating a hole.

"Don't let them escape!" Kato exclaimed angrily as he watched the two digimon took off.

But the men could not pursue the digimon. So they escaped. When the digimon and the DigiDestined disappeared from Doc Azuma's field of vision, he angrily stepped against the wall. He himself had also sustained injuries from the fight against that blond-haired brat, but these were not too heavy.

"Doesn't matter," he said, "Don't pursue them. It's pointless. I'm going to go to the lab. You're going back to your positions."

With that, Kato went to the lab. He himself smiled darkly as he thought:

/ I will now implement the final plan and destroy every digimon that is in my gizmon's field of vision!/

* * *

In a darkened room in the digital world, Alphamon knelt in front of a small pedestal. On this pedestal was a bullet floating. The black knight himself held his right hand on the left shoulder plate. His left knee was on the ground, while his golden eyes looked at the ball.

"You called, my lord," Alphamon said, but immediately calmed down again.

"_The Homeostasis is looking for you... and has already summoned up a few... It wants to destroy a dangerous digimon... I want to use this digimon and you to destroy the human world_," said one voice.

"Tch.," another mocking voice said: "But these humans are strong. We saw it then Apocalymon, Diaboromon, MaloMyotismon and Ordinemon thought them, King Drasil..."

"It was just because they have Omnimon as an ally," said a female-sounding voice.

"Don't underestimate humans," said a third voice.

"Otherwise we're going to lose a lot," laughed a fourth voice.

"_Silence_!" King Drasil shouted at them: "_Alphamon... I want you to attack these humans._"

"Don't worry," said the black knight: "I will continue with this task... However, I am concerned about a very specific human... As you probably know, a human has created a weapon that can kill digimon without them being reborn."

"_I already know that, Alphamon... So what's your plan?_"

King Drasil became curious. Unlike the other three digimon, Alphamon kept coming up with ideas on how to defeat their enemies. But the god did not expect it any other way. The black knight had once led a union of thirteen digimon.

"Both, we and these foolish DigiDestined, want to destroy this weapon at all costs, so I propose a short-term alliance with them," Alphamon said.

"What?!" the third voice shouted: "Let's ally ourselves with the DigiDestined?!"

"No... Just me... They know nothing of your existences," the black knight replied.

"That's crazy!" laughed the fourth voice.

"In fact," the third voice agreed with the fourth: "As if the DigiDestined were entering into an alliance."

"There is a saying in the human world... The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Alphamon said.

"_Good, Alphamon. Do it_," King Drasil said.

"And when they are parched after the fight against this gizmon, I strike. I'm going to kill them all," Alphamon said, laughing darkly, before falling silent and grabbed by his head.

"No!" the black knight suddenly shouted: "To kill the DigiDestined would be-"

Without hesitation, King Drasil dropped a red-and-black flash on Alphamon. When he was caught by it, he screamed in agony. After ten seconds, the lightning subsided and the black knight sank to his knees. With his hands on the ground, he thanked his lord before getting up and bowing. Then he turned around and went through a distortion.

* * *

"You look bad!" Sera exclaimed terrified: "What happened? And where is Dorumon?"

She couldn't hide the concern in her voice. Sera himself stood on the balcony of Izzy's work room and looked terrified at the DigiDestined and the digimon.

They quickly went inside after the humans jumped off the digimon and their partners returned to their rookie-level. Sera sat on the sofa, while all the other DigiDestned and digimon looked at the newcomers in dismay.

"What happened?" asked Joe and Gomamon at the same time.

"Me and this Kato beat us," Matt said.

"We don't know what happened to Dorumon," Davis continued.

"What?!" Mimi exasperated.

"And?" Akira quipped.

"And what?" the blond-haired man replied, "We couldn't get the information."

"Well, great..." Tai moaned, rubbing his forehead: "What now?"

"No idea," Sora said, biting his lower lip.

"We have to destroy this gizmon!" Yolei exclaimed beside himself.

"Yes... But how?" asked Cody.

"Maybe we should attack it first," Kari suggested.

"Yes... Maybe we'll get information," T.K. agreed.

"And risk the lives of our friends," Ken said, looking seriously at Matt's brother.

"It was just an idea," he said.

"It's a bad one," said Wormmon's partner.

"Do you have an idea, Izzy?" asked Hackmon.

"Actually, my idea was to get information from their quarters," said the person in question, shrugging his shoulders: "But this failed. That's why I'd take Kari's proposal."

"Are you insane?!" shouted Shin: "You want to sacrifice your digimon?!"

"We just have to be careful," Tentomon said.

"No! I don't want that. I've seen that before..." Meiko interrupted and looked at the floor: "I don't want to lose Hackmon as well."

"Meiko..." Tai approached her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry, but I join her... You can't just put the lives of your digimon at risk," Sera said.

"We don't even know how strong this fused gizmon is, so we shouldn't attack it!" raved Falcomon.

"But how else are we supposed to get information?" asked Cody.

"How about if I helped you, DigiDestined," said one voice.

Everyone was terrified and turned to the voice. There Gennai stood in his dark robe and smiled darkly.

"You want to help us, Alphamon?!" Wanyamon growled angrily.

"I don't want to help you. However, King Drasil wants to destroy this gizmon," he said.

"What exactly is King Drasil planning?" asked Sora suspiciously.

"First of all, destroy this gizmon," Gennai said.

"And after that?" was Izzy's question.

"That's a secret," he laughed a little.

"And we should just trust you, Gennai? You work with King Drasil, if we beat the gizmon, you will attack us," T.K. said.

"I'm not going to do that," the man in the black robe replied.

"And we should believe you?" Mimi hissed angrily.

"Believe me or don't believe me, it's your business. But you didn't want digimon to die, didn't you?" Gennai shrugged.

"I think we should unite..." said Sora: "We can use any help against the gizmon."

"I agree with Sora," Ken replied, "We don't know how strong the gizmon is, but if we have someone like Alphamon on our side, it shouldn't be a problem..."

"Should I remind you that along with Davis, Yolei and Cody you were defeated and kidnapped by him?" Joe reminded him.

"But we have no choice," Kari said, sighing heavily.

"Well, nice. We trust you until the gizmon is defeated," Tai said.

"Tai?!" Matt said, terrified.

"He is right. This Kato is unpredictable... That's why," Shin sighed.

"But Alphamon also unpredictable!", argued the blond-haired man.

"Don't worry. On my pride, I swear that I will not attack you until the gizmon is destroyed," Gennai vowed.

"Good," Wanyamon replied, "We can trust him. He will not attack us."

"Why?" his partner asked.

"He has sworn on his pride, and when he does it, he means it."

"Okay..." said Izzy and went to his computer.

Then he typed in an Internet address and read an article.

"We should go to the port immediately. Doc Azuma wants to send the gizmon from there to the digital world.", the redhead sounded alarmed.

"Wait. And what about Dorumon?" was Matt's question: "If he comes here and doesn't find anyone..."

"Me and Shin stay here...," Sera said.

"I'll stay here as well", Falcomon replied.

"Okay! Here is the plan!", Akira shouted: "We-"

"We have to stop the gizmon and Kato before they enter the digital world!", interrupted Wanyamon her.

"Hey!", she complained: "Don't interrupt me, Wanyamon!"


	19. Chapter 19 - Doc Kato Azuma

Chapter 19 – Doc Kato Azuma

Everyone rushed to the port. The digimon themselves ran close to their partners. Apart from Wanyamon, DemiVeemon, Poromon, Upamon and Minomon, which were carried by their partners. Dark Gennai himself also ran with the DigiDestined.

None of them could say what this action was supposed to do, and rather what he intended. Did King Drasil really wanted to cooperate to destroy the gigantic gizmon, or did he want to destroy the DigiDestined and their partner digimon after the fight? None of them could say it.

Suddenly Kari slowed down until she came to a halt.

"_Stop_," she said, causing everyone to stop.

"Kari?" asked Davis, astonished that the brown-haired woman suddenly sounded so different.

"_This is the Homeostasis_," Tai said.

"What do you want?" Wanyamon raved: "You know we're just trying to prevent the gizmon from getting into the digital world."

"_We know that_," the Homeostasis said.

"And why are you stopping us?" asked Matt, irritated.

"_Rethink your actions_," said the god.

"Rethink our actions?" Joe repeated.

"We do it for the digimon!" exclaimed Mimi.

"That should be your intention," Sora said.

"_Our intention is to preserve the harmony of both worlds_," the Homeostasis replied, to which Gennai had to laugh.

"Harmony?" he scoffed: "Your harmony has only caused this mess."

"_Our harmony did not cause the emergence of gizmon, Alphamon_," the god replied coolly.

"Your harmony has chosen the DigiDestined. And now see what has become of them. One of them created the gizmon. Another has been actively working with King Drasil. So let me ask you something. How can you claim that your harmony did not create the gizmon?"

"Harmony? Homeostasis? Please explain," Ken interjected.

"The Homeostasis is the god of the digital world," Izzy explained, "it strives for the harmony and stability of both worlds."

"And why are you stopping us now, homeostasis?" asked Yolei.

"_We don't want you to lose your partners, or as you call it "friends." We always strive to maintain harmony. You and your "friends" are the pillars of harmony, which is why you must not fail_," said The God.

"But there are other DigiDestined on this planet!" exclaimed Cody.

"_They can't have their digimon digivolve to the perfect-level, let alone the ultimate-level. You are the only ones who can do that_," the Homeostasis said.

"The only ones?" repeated T.K.: "Why don't you give the other DigiDestined crest like we once owned or how Meiko and Cody own them?"

"_It takes a very long time to create a crest. The Sovereigns have chosen you four_.", the god pointed with the hand of Kari to Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken: "_What was not our intention. You should not become DigiDestined, but you have been chosen to be one. That's why I only started to create the crest Ken Ichijouji. Only later should Cody Hida and Yolei Inoue get some so that you can withstand the dangers_."

"But what about me?" asked Meiko: "I also have a crest, the crest of strength."

"Y_ou, Meiko Mochizuki, are another case_."

"Another case?" she repeated: "What do you mean by that? Why did I become Meicoomon's partner? Why did I become a DigiDestined again?!"

"_This will be explained... But not today._"

"Why? I had to constantly wonder why I was Meicoomon's partner! Tell me, Homeostasis, why was I Meicoomon's partner? And why am I a DigiDestined again?!"

"Hey!" Akira shouted, "Shouldn't we worry about the gizmon instead of standing around here arguing with a supposed god?!"

"Right... We're wasting our time here," Gennai agreed: "I don't agree with you humans... But it is in King Drasil's interest to destroy the gizmon."

"_Good... If that's your answer, we're not going to stop you_," the Homeostasis said, leaving Kisi's body.

She would have hit the ground if T.K. hadn't catched her. But the blonde-haired man noticed that she had lost consciousness.

"I'll stay with her," T.K. decided, "You're going and destroying the gizmon."

"We need everyone," Matt said of his brother: "The gizmon is probably very strong."

"But I can't leave Kari alone here, you understand that, don't you?"

"Okay," he nodded to him before rushing with the group to the port.

Once there, they saw the gizmon, as well as many cameramen who had surrounded Dr. Azuma and his team.

"Damn! There is hardly any time left!" raged Tai.

"Then we should digivolve!" exclaimed Agumon.

"Yes!" replied all the partner digimon of the older DigiDestined present.

"Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"

"Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!"

"Biyomon warp-digivolve to... Phoenixmon!"

"Tentomon warp-digivolve to... HerculesKabuterimon!"

"Gomamon warp-digivolve to... Vikemon!"

"Palmon warp-digivolve to... Rosemon!"

"Wanyamon warp-digivolve to... Dynasmon!"

"Hackmon warp-digivolve to... SaviorHackmon!"

Everyone then flew to the gizmon and surrounded it.

"Remember! The laser will kill you!" shouted WarGreymon to the others.

"So dodge him!" decided MetalGarurumon.

"Good!" nodded Rosemon.

"Nothing easier than that!" said Vikemon.

"Don't be overbearing," HerculesKabuterimon warned him.

"One wrong move and it's your end," Phoenixmon said.

"Despite this, we will destroy it!", Dynasmon growled.

"Exactly! We will... Don't let it go to the digital world!" shouted SaviorHackmon: "By the way. Where are Veemon, Wormmon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon?"

Meiko's partner looked around a bit and recognized the four digimon, who were still at their partners' side.

"Why aren't you digitized?" asked Davis.

"Because it doesn't make sense," Veemon replied.

"We can only digitize to our champion level... That's why we can forget to fight," Wormmon said.

"But you two can fuse," Cody said.

"Exactly!" agreed Armadillomon.

"We can't do this anymore!" shouted the blue dragon and the insect.

"Why not?" was Yolei's question.

"We just can't do it anymore," Wormmon replied.

"You used to do it," Hawkmon said.

"But now we just can't do it anymore," Veemon said, sighing heavily.

Sure, he wanted to fight, but he knew he couldn't do anything. So they remained silent and watched the fight together with the other DigiDestined and Gennai.

Gizmon himself acted alone and sent several flashes.

"What?!" Phoenixmon dodged in horror, but was struck by lightning a short time later.

The other partner digimon were also hit. Only Dynasmon, WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon and SaviorHackmon were able to dodge the attack. After the lightning struck, the affected partners returned to their in-training level and threatened to plunge into the sea. Meiko's partner chased after them and caught them before he flew to the DigiDestined and put all the digimon on the ground. He also landed on the ground and digivolve back to Hackmon.

"Hackmon?" his partner asked, "Why are you back?"

"Because I can't help Meiko..." he explained, leaning his head down in shame: "I'm too weak for this thing."

Gennai laughed.

"Really?" he scoffed, "Then I'll help you."

"Wouldn't you want to help us from the beginning?" was the question of the four-footed dragon.

"I just said that I am cooperating with you. I have not said that I will support you in the fight."

"What exactly do you mean by cooperating?" asked Izzy.

"If your partners are defeated as easily as they were when I last fought against you before the Homeostasis had shut down King Drasil, then I will help you. And as I see it, it's just the case," the man in the dark robe said, smiling, before snapping his fingers.

His figure was shrouded in a light that grew ever larger and eventually revealed Alphamon. He then flew to the rest of the partner digimon, who dodged the lightning of the Gizmon. During the attack, Dynasmon tried to reach out to the enemy and attack him with a punch. But the wings of the machine repelled him and hurled him away. He was able to catch himself by flapping his purple wings, but the next moment a lightning bolt struck him. Alphamon took the chance and fired a green laser at the Gizmon, interrupting it during its attack.

"Don't leave your guard drop, Dynasmon," the black knight warned him.

"Don't give me any orders, Alphamon!" Akira's partner growled.

"I'm not going to do that. I don't care what becomes of you. I just want to defeat the Gizmon, so I'm cooperating with you."

"And if we fight, we can't beat it," MetalGarurumon interjected.

"So pull yourselves together. We have a common goal and we have to destroy it," WarGreymon raged, creating a yellow sphere between his claws: "Terra Force!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!" MetalGarurumon fired an icy wave of energy out of his mouth.

Combined with the attack of Tai's partner, the Gizmon was supposed to be destroyed as they did one with Apocalymon. But after the plane was hit by the attack, it sent out an energy laser. Dynasmon held his claws in front of him and blocked the attack with his jewels. These had created a small, invisible energy shield. With a powerful movement, Akira's partner was able to split the laser into two, causing it to smash into buildings.

"WarGreymon!" the wolf shouted.

"Okay!" he replied: "WarGreymon..."

"MetalGarurumon..."

"DNA digivolution too..." they both shouted, before merging: "Omnimon! Grey Sword!"

The fused digimon pulled his Grey blade and swung it to the side, creating a wave of energy that should have defeated the Gizmon. But this one was unharmed.

"Tch... You can't do anything.", Alphamon stretched out his right arm to the side: "Kyuukyokusenjin OwRyuken"

A ball formed in front of his hand, which then turned into a round disc. Then this disc dipped almost his entire arm into a bright light before it manifested itself in a blade. The metal parts on Alphamon's back are rear-fitting and gold wings formed by flames. Eventually, the black knight jumped in front of the Gizmon and slammed the OwRyuken blade down to split the machine. But something prevented the blade from touching the Gizmon at all.

"What the?!" said Alphamon, before he got himself to safety as the machine tried to attack him with his straps.

Omnimon observed this and considered why they could not attack the enemy. But he came up with no solution.

"Why can't we hurt it?!" Dynasmon growled angrily.

"Somehow it has to protect itself," said the fused digimon, observing the opponent's lens sparkling: "Caution. It will shoot a laser again!"

Already a laser raced towards the three digimon. Alphamon tried to fend it off with one of his lasers, but it ended in a gigantic explosion that threw the three digimon in different directions. All of them, however, collided with buildings and were left lying.

"Dynasmon!" cried Akira, and rushed to him.

When she reached him, he straightened up, but collapsed to his knees.

"Is everything okay?" she asked him.

"Tch. I was just careless," he raved, flapping his wings vigorously.

"Wait... It... makes no sense... You can't hurt it."

"Should I give up?!"

"Yes..." she looked to the ground: "I don't want to lose you."

"You know me! I will not allow this Gizmon to kill thousands of digimon!"

"But you can't do anything! Neither you, nor Omnimon or Alphamon!"

"I know," he sighed, "But I have to keep going."

"Dynasmon!" she said, terrified: "It. Brings. Nothing."

He closed his eyes briefly, but flapped again with his wings.

"I'm sorry, Akira... I'm going to keep fighting!" he flew into the air and to the Gizmon.

"Dynasmon!," she shouted after him: "Stay here!"

She tried to rush after him, but stumbled over a wooden beam, causing her to fall.

"Ow..." she moaned with a closed eye and covered her ankle with a hand.

She must have cracked it.

Meanwhile, Izzy had opened several programs to better analyse the Gizmon. But the more he analysed it, the more inconclusive he became. This "digimon" was far more complicated than he had imagined.

"Do you have anything now?" asked Matt impatiently.

"No... This Gizmon consists of many different programs... One program for absorbing data, one for creating distortions, another for fighting... The list is long," the redhead explained.

"What do you mean by long?" was Davis's question.

"I mean that it's at least a hundred programs that make up this Gizmon," Izzy said, biting his lower lip.

"And what are we doing now? Omnimon, Dynasmon and Alphamon can't hurt the Gizmon," Sora said desperately.

"I... don't know.", the redhead folded his laptop and sighed hard: "I can't. There are too many programs for my computer to analyse..."

"Get a hold of yourself, Izzy," Tai said, "You're the only one who can do it."

"That's why you have to calm down. Take a deep breath and try!" replied Joe.

"You can do it, Izzy. I believe in you!" exclaimed Mimi, causing Izzy's cheeks to turn slightly reddish.

"Exactly!" Yolei agreed: "You can do that! Believe in you!"

"And besides. We're there for you," Ken encouraged him, "So, focus on yourself and find out how Omnimon, Dynasmon, and Alphamon defeat this Gizmon."

"You're the computer genius after all," Cody said.

"You analysed Ordinemon. So you're going to analyse it now," Meiko said.

"Thank you," he closed his eyes briefly and opened the laptop again.

Then he looked through the programs. While Izzy was busy, Dynasmon flew to the Gizmon. Shortly before he reached it, he created a wyvern that flew towards the machine. However, this was not the purpose of anything. Omnimon himself eventually fired a laser at the opponent, but again it was not injured.

Alphamon flew behind the Gizmon and tried to attack it again with his OwRyuken blade. However, this did not work either. Immediately, the fused digimon rushed towards the opponent and hit him with the Garuru nuzzle. He hadn't hoped it would bring anything until he realized a small crack. But he was thrown away by the carriers and he collided with Alphamon. The latter, strangely enough, caught him, but the next moment he let go of it as if he had thought differently.

"A small crack formed when I attacked it directly," Omnimon said.

"But we can't hurt it with our attacks or weapons," Dynasmon growled.

"I guess the crack was there before. So if we chase a pointed weapon into it, the Gizmon is likely to be badly hurt," Alphamon said.

"The three of us are not so agile, so the risk of being hit by a laser is very high..." said the fused digimon.

"Neither I nor Alphamon have pointed weapons..." continued Akira's partner.

"But SaviorHackmon. He has two pointed arm blades..." said the black knight.

"Good. I'm informing my friends," Omnimon said, "You two distract the Gizmon."

"As if we had another choice..." raved Alphamon.

Tai and Matt's partner flew back to the DigiDestined in a hurry.

"Omnimon?" said Joe, terrified.

"There's a little crack at that Gizmon. We want to attack it there," the fused Digimon said.

"But none of our digimon are able to digivolve anymore," Mimi said.

"None?" asked Omnimon, looking at Hackmon.

He hid behind his partner, hoping that the fused digimon would not refer to him.

"He still has enough strength," Tai and Matt's partner continued.

"But... what can I do?" was the question of the four-footed dragon.

"Just expand the crack as SaviorHackmon."

"But isn't that dangerous?" asked Cody, terrified.

"It is... but we will cover him," Omnimon said.

"Will you do it, Hackmon?" was Meiko's anxious question.

"Y-yes..." his insecure voice rang out: "I'm scared... but I will try."

"Don't try, Hackmon," the fused digimon replied: "Do it. Believe that you can do it."

"Okay..." he closed his eyes and breathed deeply: "Hackmon warp-digivolve to... SaviorHackmon!"

SaviorHackmon then flew back to the Gizmon with Omnimon.

* * *

Shin paced through the room. He was agitated and angry. His hands were clenched behind his back while he bit his lower lip.

"Shin, calm yourself." Sera said.

"She is right." Falcomon continued.

"Damn. If we had our partners then…" the man interrupted himself and thought.

"We have only Falcomon."

"But he is one of the Sovereigns!", he shouted angrily: "He can defeat that Gizmon."

"But I don't want to fight Kato.", the bird replied while looking at the ground.

"Falcomon…" she said.

"What happened to him?", Falcomon asked: "It's like he just died."

Shin quietly repeated the words before clenching his teeth. Should he tell him? The man looked to his girlfriend who shook her head slowly.

"We kept a secret." Shin began.

"Shin! We promised him that we don't tell anyone about it!", Sere interjected.

"What secret?" was Falcomon's question.

"Kato, whom we know, has died! There was a car accident after we came back from the digital world..."

Sera bit her lower lip and swallowed. She didn't like to break that promise.

"I still don't understand," the bird said.

"Kato had a younger brother... His name was Azuma... He looked surprisingly similar to him, so Kato sometimes joked they were twins... They were also really close. Probably Kato had told Azuma everything about his adventures in the digital world," the man explained.

"And Azuma had visited us shortly after the car accident, where he had told us that his younger brother had died, and he burst into tears," Sera continued: "Oddly enough. He wanted that the made a promise to him."

"We would never tell anyone that Kato died.", Shin said: "It was foolish to promise this. But we were just kids back then."

"That means that Kato..." began Falcomon, but he couldn't speak further.

"He's been dead a long time... Azuma was so traumatized by the death of his older brother that he began to pretend to be him. Now Azuma believes he's Kato."

"I see... So that's the truth about Kato... No, Azuma... Kato is dead. I will never see him again," said the bird: "Then I have nothing to regret. I will stop Azuma..."

"We'll come along!" decided Shin, standing up.

"Good... You can ride on me," Falcomon said before going to the balcony.

Shin and Sera followed him before the bird warp-digivolve to his ultimate-level.

* * *

"Supreme Cannon!" Omnimon fired an energy beam at the Gizmon, preventing it from attacking.

When the machine wanted to attack Meiko's partner with his straps, Dynasmon parried them and dug his claws into the carriers so that Gizmon could no longer use them.

Meanwhile, SaviorHackmon and Alphamon flew close together and approached the enemy. When he tried to attack them with a laser, the black knight held his OwRyuken blade in front of his body and thus fended off the laser.

"Now, SaviorHackmon!" he shouted to him.

He approached the Gizmon and immediately recognized the crack that the fused digimon meant. He pushed his left arm blade into the crack and was able to extend it a little. Suddenly, the Gizmon emanated a pointed scream. Dynasmon narrowed his eyes in pain.

"Grah! What is that? I can barely hold my level because of it!" he growled, freeing his claws from the opponent before flying several meters away.

The other fighting digimon also flew away.

"Definitely it seems to be in pain," Omnimon said.

"I don't think so, Omnimon..." said Alphamon: "This is not a digimon."

"But it seems like it's annoying him that we've attacked a sore spot," Meiko's partner said.

Suddenly, several lightning bolts struck the four. SaviorHackmon screamed in pain and digivolving back to his rookie-level before the lightning subsided and he crashed into the sea. Meiko immediately ran into the sea and swam to him. Then she grabbed him by the stomach and swam back to shore. There she laid him on the ground and tried to wake him up.

"Hackmon... Hackmon..." she repeatedly called for him until suddenly Dynasmon crashed on the floor next to her.

The Gizmon had hurled him and his straps to the shore, where he was now lying there and breathing heavily. Akira ran to him and knelt down. Her partner tried to get up, but he hadn't enough strength and collapsed to the ground. Then he digivolved back to Wanyamon. Meanwhile, the other DigiDestined and digimon also joined the four.

"I... can't… do… it… anymore…" groaned Wanyamon, who was lifted by Akira a short time later.

"You idiot!" she yelled at him: "I told you it was pointless! Man... I'm glad you're still alive. I was very worried."

"Don't worry... to me... I don't like it..." he quipped.

"But I'm worried about you... Don't be so selfish!"

"Well... Then worry about me, Akira... It's your right."

"Only Omnimon and Alphamon can still fight," Tai said, looking at the two knight-digimon.

Omnimon himself also took a quick look at his friends before inhaling heavily. He could not sustain the fusion any longer. He's been in this form for longer than usual. If he did not fight, he would certainly be able to maintain this level for hours, but because he was just fighting and using up all his energies, he was now almost at the end of his powers.

"Can't you hold your level anymore, Omnimon?" Alphamon mocked him.

The fused digimon decided not to answer him. Instead, he flew to the shore. Even before he could reach it, he separated and became Koromon and Tsunomon, which fell into the shallow water. Luckily, Tai and Matt were there and were able to get them out.

Alphamon also felt that he was at the end of his powers, and so he did the same to Omnimon and rushed to the DigiDestined and their digimon before turning back into the Dark Gennai.

"Our digimon are completely exhausted," Sora said.

"Well... What do you expect?" a voice asked the DigiDestined: "Gizmon is way too strong for you."

Everyone turned around and recognized Doc Kato Azuma. He smiled and clapped his hands.

"My Gizmon can defeat your digimon," he laughed, looking at Gennai: "I'm going to completely destroy the digimon, starting with this one."

Suddenly, a huge phoenix roared past and landed on the ground a few meters away. Shin and Sera climbed from his back before the phoenix rose again into the air.

The head, his body, the tail and partly the legs and wings were held in a red-orange colour, while four stinging red eyes briefly looked at Kato. Then the phoenix looked at the Gizmon. The golden hair glistened in the sun. The underside of the beak and the entire neck were covered with grey feathers. Six bright red balls hovered around the neck and around the tail. There was a cannon on the back, but the phoenix never used it to attack.

Two short wings perched on his chest, while the other four wings alternately struck up and down. No matter how big the wings were, they had the same pattern. Light yellow feathers occupied the front part of the wings and legs. This was followed by a series of yellow feathers before ending with red-orange. The tail itself was extremely long and had several small tufts of hair on the top, which had the shape of flames. Below these "flames" was a triangle consisting of two colours. The edge of the triangles was yellow, while the inside was light yellow. The phoenix itself had three grey, pointed claws on its two feet. In general, this digimon seemed very majestic.

"Who is that?" asked Cody, though he believed the phoenix was in some way related to Azulongmon.

"This is Zhuqiaomon... One of the Sovereigns," Sera said.

"And besides, he was Kato's partner," Shin continued.

"Exactly! And that's why I hate him. He is destroying my research!" cried Doc Kato Azuma, clenching his fists.

"How strong are these Sovereigns?" was Akira's question.

"Very strong... They once defeated the Dark Masters with us," her sister replied.

"Yes... With me, Daigo, Maki, Sera and Kato. We fought against the Dark Masters in the digital world. Then we returned and Kato had a car accident," Shin said.

Doc Azuma's eyes widened with horror before he screamed out loud:

"No! I'm Kato! I am Doc Kato Azuma!"

"What's going on with him?" asked Gennai contemptuously.

'He's not Kato... He is his younger brother Azuma," Sera said: "Kato died in a car accident."

"No!" Azuma shouted: "I'm Kato! I am Kato Azuma! I was with you in the digital world. I have defeated with you the Dark Masters. I'm Kato!"

"Azuma," Shin knelt down to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me, Shin!" he slapped his hand away and looked at the man angrily: "I'm Kato... I am Kato... Kato... Kato..."

He closed his eyes and grabbed his head before screaming loudly and agonisingly.

"No... I'm Kato! Kato! KATO!," Azuma repeated his older brother's name over and over again.

Meanwhile, Zhuqiaomon fought the Gizmon alone. As it turned out, this was a simple game for the phoenix. With an energy charge, the Sovereign destroyed the "digimon" and flew back to the shore.

"Azuma,"" Zhuqiaomon said: "Think... Would Kato have wanted you to attack and kill innocent digimon?"

The person in question looked up and looked into the four eyes of the phoenix. Then he shook his head.

"No... Kato wouldn't have wanted that... He wouldn't have wanted me to hate digimon. Kato..." Azuma quietly admitted: "I always wished that I was the one who died in this car accident, not my brother... It even went so far that I believed and dreamed that I was in the digital world..."

"What happened has happened, Azuma... Farewell, Kato's brother. I'm going back to the digital world," the phoenix replied.

"And how do you want to go back to the digital world?" asked Izzy.

"I can create distortions..." declared the sovereign and flapped with his four wings.

Behind him appeared a distortion, into which he then dived.

"Shin, Sera!" he cried: "I will greet Azulongmon and Ebonwumon for you. You will certainly be happy!"

Then the distortion closed and swallowed the sovereign. Everyone was still looking at the spot where the phoenix was flying recently. Dark Gennai finally laughed out loud, so the others shrugged.

"Who would have thought that you would get support from a sovereign," he said.

"Gennai!" raged Tai: "What are you going to do now?"

"Me? I am far too exhausted to fight against you. Actually I had wanted to kill you after the fight, but that has to be postponed.", behind him appeared a distortion: "But we will see each other again, DigiDestend. See you later. Sayonara!"

Gennai disappeared as well. Everyone was silent again. They were speechless and they had to digest what had happened. Kato was not Kato but his younger brother Azuma. Falcomon was a sovereign who then destroyed the Gizmon. Alphamon had helped them, although he worked for King Drasil, because he saw the Gizmon as such a strong threat that the god wanted to cooperate with the DigiDestined.

"We... should go back to Izzy's study room," Ken suggested.

"And what about T.K., Patamon, Kari and Gatomon?" Davis said after swallowing heavily.

"Right! We completely forgot about them!" exclaimed Mimi.

The group started walking while Shin and Sera stayed. They looked at each other than to Azuma.

"Can you get up, Azuma?" he asked him.

He nodded and was supported by his older brother's friend.

* * *

**Author's note**: And done! The first arc is and the last chapter have some changes from the German version of this fanfic. First Dorumon does not accompany Matt and Co. to get the plans from Doc Azuma. It was Shin Kawa who was with them. The distraction itself was caused by Guilmon.

In this chapter Shin and Sera didn't know that Kato was Azuma. Instead they forgot that Kato died during a car accident.

In the end I think the changes are justified because they make more sense.

Did you like it? The next two chapters will deal with characters who are not protagonists. So look forward to two character chapters!


	20. Chapter 20 – Reliability and Honesty

**Author's note:** To Jackie Mueller. Please read chapter 3 again. There is the answer to your question.

Sorry for the late update. I haven't been able to upload due to a birthdate in my family. Well... It doesn't matter now because here is the first character chapter. Hope you like it. ^^

* * *

Chapter 20 – Reliability and Honesty

A week passed. As always when Yolei argued with her older siblings, she cycled around the area with her bike and Poromon. Although her partner generally always sounded male, the baby level of him had a female voice. But she didn't care. Instead, she was angry with her older brother Mantaru. He had insulted her that she still had her toy Poromon. Unlike Cody and Ken, Yolei had never told her family that she was a DigiDestined and her toy was actually a digimon named Poromon. She just couldn't do it. However, she also knew that Davis had not told his parents about it as well. Still. Sometimes she wondered why she didn't tell her parents and siblings.

"Yolei," Poromon said.

"Not now," she raved.

"Stop."

She made a full brake, causing her partner to be thrown out of the basket near the ground. She immediately apologized.

"You should tell your parents." he said.

"No... How would they react?"

"I..."

"Not everyone has understanding parents like Ken or Cody has them," Yolei sighed.

"But you shouldn't hide it..."

"Or I'll put you in Ken's place," she said, smiling: "After all, he had already taken care of you!"

"Yolei!" Poromon rebuked her: "You're my partner, not Ken."

"Despite this... How can I teach my parents and siblings that I am a DigiDestined?"

"I don't know... But you shouldn't run away!" Poromon flapped his small wings.

She sighed heavily and looked at the river. This one rustled gently. In the distance, Yolei could see a ship. Presumably the captain made his ship tours and showed the sights of Tokyo. The tourists would definitely be happy about such a trip.

"Yolei!" her partner shouted, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What did you say?" she asked, confused, looking at Poromon.

"How about talking to one of the older DigiDestined... For example, Izzy."

"He's busy deciphering the legend," she waved.

"Ken? I mean, you've got a crush on him."

"Poromon! I don't bring out a word when I'm supposed to talk to him!"

"Right... Hm...", he thought something: "How about Joe? I mean, he's the oldest of us all."

"Good idea. I call... No, I'm going to Joe."

She pedalled and drove in front of Joe's apartment block. When she rang him, Ms. Kido opened the door.

"Huh? Who are you?" she asked kindly.

"I'm Yolei and a friend of Joe," she explained, holding her partner with her arms.

"Ah! So then you're Joe's girlfriend," she concluded.

"Like, what? No, no, no, no, no!" she chuckled with her hands in front of her torso: "We are only friends, only friends! I don't love him!"

"Then who is Joe's girlfriend?" Ms. Kido put her head to the side.

"Can we finally leave the topic... I want to see Joe. It... is urgent. I need his advice."

"Okay. Joe! Your girlfriend is here!" she exclaimed.

"I'm learning, mother. Please, can you tell her I am busy right now!" Joe replied from his room.

"Yolei needs your help," his mother replied.

"Wait. Yolei? I'm coming!"

Within seconds, Joe and his partner, Gomamon, stood next to Ms. Kido and watched the visitors.

"What's going on, Yolei?" the young man asked.

"We... need your advice," Yolei said.

"Okay. Come in," he made a hand gesture to urge her to enter.

The apartment of the Kido family was very spacious. Next to the elongated hallway with a chest of drawers on the left were several pictures of the family on the walls. A picture, Yolei assumed, had just been taken, as Gomamon could also be seen on it. Other pictures showed Joe and his older brother Jim, another picture the whole family without Gomamon. One image attracted Yolei's attention in particular. This showed a young Jim holding a baby in his arms. She looked into the camera with big eyes, while the older brother smiled broadly.

"That's me and my older brother Jim," Joe said.

"Aha," she said, "Where's Jim now?"

"He works as a doctor in Kyoto," Ms. Kido replied.

"I was there with my class once," Yolei smiled: "It's very nice there."

"I know," Joe replied: "I and Gomamon once visited Jim there. By the way, he works with Sora's father."

"I already know that. They helped me once."

They both chatted a little before Ms. Kido asked:

"Do you want a tea?"

"Yes, Ms. Kido," she smiled.

"Good," she nodded to her and walked into the kitchen.

"And we go to my room in the meantime."

When Yolei entered Joe's room, she realized that everything was very orderly. Next to a bed was also a desk with several books stacked on top of each other. Right next to the table was a simple oak wardrobe. Above the table hung three tapestries with Japanese characters to motivate you to learn. The young man sat on the chair while Gomamon made himself comfortable on the bed.

"So, why do you want my advice, Yolei?" Joe asked her.

"It's like that..." she looked to the side and bit her lower lip.

"Yolei wants to tell her parents and siblings that she's a DigiDestined," Poromon said.

"Poromon!" she rebuked him.

"Hm... How about telling just one of them," Gomamon suggested.

"And who?" she sounded slightly annoyed: "My siblings tell everything. Everything!"

"Then tell your parents," the young man said.

"No..."

"You should be really honest, Yolei. If you hide it from them for longer, the stronger the shock will be if they find out."

"I've been hiding it for over four years! I can't do it now!' she shouted, putting her face in her palms.

"Are you not overreacting, Yolei?" asked Poromon.

"I don't... But I can't tell my family... My family is far crazier than Ken's or even Cody's!"

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Joe slightly tilted his head to the side.

"It's so bad," she said: "When I brought a puppy home, for example, my dad shouted at me to let him run again."

"Your parents have a supermarket... For hygienic reasons, they forbade you," Gomamon said.

"And imagine when I tell my parents that Poromon is a digimon! They will then suspend him and I will get house arrest for years!" she shouted.

"Okay..." the young man looked at her sceptically: "You really are overreacting. Just try it. And-"

Suddenly, a distortion appeared, causing Guilmon to appear. He briefly looked around and finally recognized Yolei. He smiled slightly and threw an object at her. When she caught it, the object began to glow.

"What kind of light is this?" asked Yolei's partner: "Poromon digivolve to... Hawkmon!"

"A crest?!" Joe said, terrified.

"It is logical that Yolei also gets one. I mean Meiko and Cody have one," Gomamon said.

"And done," Guilmon said, shook briefly: "King Drasil's subordinates are really stubborn."

"How exactly do you mean that?" was Hawkmon's question.

"Actually I should bring the crest to a place somewhere in the digital world... However, King Drasil's subordinates are after the crests. As long as the bearer does not touch his crest, the crest can be negatively affected," explained the red dinosaur: "But fortunately the Homeostasis suggested that I deliver the crest of honesty to its bearer. As I made my way here, several subordinates of King Drasil attacked me."

"Wait... Honesty? My crest is honesty?" asked Yolei.

"Yes," he confirmed: "Your crest is honesty. According to the Homeostasis, you are a very honest person."

"How can I be honest if I constantly lie to my parents?!" she shouted, throwing the crest on the floor.

"Yolei!" her partner shouted, taking the crest with his beak.

Then he handed it back to her.

"Sometimes you have to conquer the darkness in yourself to ignite new forces," Joe replied: "It was the case with me and Gomamon. By accepting what my duty as a DigiDestined means, Gomamon was able to digivolve to his ultimate-level."

"But Hawkmon can't even digivolve to his perfect-level," she said, looking at her partner, who pulled his head in.

"Don't blame him... Otherwise, he will never be able to digivolve to the perfect-level," the red dinosaur replied, before a distortion appeared behind him: "Well. I have to move on. See you later."

In doing so, Guilmon jumped into the distortion, which disappeared a few seconds later.

/Honesty... Why?/ Yolei thought, looking at her crest, which formed some kind of a flame.

"And I think I already know how your crest will activate, Yolei!" cried Gomamon.

"Me too," Hawkmon replied.

"It's pretty obvious," Joe said.

"And how?" she asked.

"By telling your family that you're a DigiDestined," the young man replied.

"Never!" she screamed, rushing out of the room.

"Yolei!" her partner shouted and rushed after her.

He still realized how Ms. Kido came out of the kitchen with a tray containing four cups. She looked at the falcon in amazement.

"Sorry, Ms Kido. We have to go again," he said, flying outside through the open door.

Hawkmon was looking for his partner for a while. He flew through the streets, through the parks, through the alleys. He searched for her continuously. After a while, he sat down on a branch and sighed.

/Yolei... Where are you?/ he asked himself.

Someone walked past the tree. It was Yolei's older brother Mantaru. He was wearing a white T-shirt with blue shorts. There were headphones in his ears. Like Yolei, he wore glasses. Hawkmon flew down from the branch and landed right in front of him.

"Wah!" he was terrified, jumping a meter backwards.

"Mantaru," Hawkmon said earnestly.

"A... a Digimon?" his eyes had wide open.

Incisively, he rubbed off the glasses on his T-shirt and put them back on. But the Digimon was still not gone. Then Mantaru took the headphones out and started shaking. He hoped he would hallucinate because he believed Digimon's were terrible monsters.

"Mantaru." the falcon said, "Have you seen Yolei?"

"What... what do you want from my sister?" was his question.

"I'm her partner. Yolei herself is a DigiDestined and was chosen to be my partner," he explained.

" DigiDestined? Hold on... You are this toy that Yolei owns."

"Exactly. My name is Hawkmon and I am a Digimon. But that is now irrelevant. Have you seen Yolei? We were with a friend because we were looking for advice. But then she left without a trace."

"Like a year ago..." he recalled how Yolei had disappeared without a trace and reappeared after a month completely exhausted.

"This time it's different. Yolei was not kidnapped by a digimon. She hides from her family that she is a DigiDestined."

"How long has it been?"

"For four years."

"So long..." he closed his eyes briefly: "Good. We are looking for them."

"Thank you, Mantaru... I'm really worried about Yolei," he flew back into the air: "Don't you mind that I'm a digimon?"

"It's a shock... However, you don't seem to be malicious... On the contrary. You seem to be very formal and polite."

"That's who I am."

"Good... Then we'll look for Yolei."

So the two searched for Yolei together. As they passed a river, they recognized her under a bridge. Lost in thought, she threw a few stones into the river. She didn't even notice Hawkmon and her older brother. It wasn't until they both stood in front of her that she looked up.

"How, what?" she asked, confused, because she had not expected both her partner and Mantaru to stand in front of her together.

"Hey, Yolei!" her brother replied, smiling, and sat down next to her, "How's it going?"

"What do you want, Mantaru!" she cried, turning her back to him.

Hawkmon flew right in front of Yolei and made a worried face.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, Yolei," he said, "I was worried about you."

"Why are you with Mantaru, Hawkmon?" was her question.

"Hawkmon was looking for you and came across me," Mantaru explained: "He told me that you are a DigiDestined... and what happened to you a year ago. You were kidnapped..."

"Yes... But please don't tell our parents, Mantaru," she asked, throwing a stone into the river again.

"Yolei. Do you want to run away?" her brother asked, "You have to tell our parents."

"Have to? No... I've been hiding it for four years... I can do it."

"Yolei!" said Hawkmon angrily, "but I don't want you to hide it any longer!"

"Then you will live with Ken," she argued.

"I'm your partner, not Ken's," the hawk said.

"He's right, Yolei. Besides, I now know that you are a DigiDestined and befriended by a Digimon... So tell our parents and siblings," Mantaru replied, "I'll help you, Yolei. I'm your brother after all."

He put an arm around her and pulled her over. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the hug. After a while, she separated from him and thanked him.

"No problem. What are older brothers there for?" he laughed.

"Thank you. So..." she got up and stretched out, "Then we'll go back home, right?"

"Yes. And as I said, I'm with you, Yolei. And I will help you."

So the three went to Yolei's apartment. As Yolei and Hawkmon sat down, Mantaru summoned the rest of the family together. After everyone took their seats, there was a crushing silence.

"Well... I..." Yolei began unsure and kneaded her hands.

However, she did not continue and eventually took Hawkmon in her lap.

"What's going on, Yolei?" her mother asked her impatiently, as she had to go back to the store.

Mantaru looked briefly at Hawkmon before saying:

"The toy on Yolei's lap-"

"Mantaru, wait," his sister interrupted him.

"I thought we would agree?"

"But... But I will tell them myself."

"Did you steal several yen from us, Yolei?" was her father's question.

"No.", she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before her eyelids reopened and she said in a heavy voice: "The toy on my lap is a digimon and I-"

"What?!" cried Chizuru, the younger of Yolei's two sisters.

"Yes..." Hawkmon began to move and nodded.

Everyone except Mantaru and Yolei looked at him with big eyes.

"And I'm a DigiDestined. I once protected this and the digital world from a terrible digimon," she explained, as her crest began to glow.

Then the light faded and she smiled at her family.

"And for how long have you been a DigiDestined?" asked Momoe, her eldest sister.

"For four years," she sighed, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was afraid that you would take Hawkmon away from me because you just took away the puppy I found at the time."

"Because we have to comply with the rules, Yolei. No animals in the supermarket," her father sighed.

"And what about Hawkmon?" asked Mantaru, "He's not an animal. He's a digimon."

"And that's the problem. Digimon are vicious and brutal!" her mother said.

"Partly yes..." Yolei admitted.

"But Hawkmon is not like that!" her brother exclaimed: "He is friendly, polite and formal. He would never go to the supermarket if you forbid him! In addition... I don't mind if we get another family member. I mean Hawkmon is a man."

"Actually, we digimon don't have genders," the hawk explained: "It's just that sometimes we sound like men and sometimes we sound like women. That's the way it is."

"So I don't see any problem with leaving Hawkmon with us," Mantaru concluded.

"It... "It's okay," Chizuru said after collecting her thoughts: "Nothing changes except that we get another family member."

"And he's Yolei's friend," Momoe smiled: "A friend of her is also our friend. Don't you always say that, mom?"

"Yes... But Hawkmon, right, is a digimon," her mother replied.

"Well? Hawkmon is a friend of Yolei!" argued the eldest sister.

"Well... What do you say?" she asked her husband.

"I don't mind," he smiled: "I think Hawkmon means a lot to Yolei."

"Thank you," Yolei said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you..."

"We are a family, Yolei! And we're holding together!" her brother said.

"I know..." she wiped away her tears.

"So... How exactly did you became a DigiDestined?" was her father's question.

"It was like..." she began to tell how she got her Digivice, how she met Hawkmon, what she experienced with her friends, why she disappeared without a trace for a month a year ago.

She told her family all this. The more she told them about it, the more relieved she became. Hawkmon and Joe were right. She should have told her family much earlier.

* * *

In the afternoon, Yolei and Hawkmon watched TV. A science programme about the Middle Ages of Europe has just aired. Suddenly the show was interrupted and a message was released.

"We apologize for having to interrupt the current program. This is an urgent message. A digimon has just appeared in the park of Edogawa. The police are asking all residents to remain calm and follow the instructions," the news reader said.

Yolei jumped up and pulled her Digivice.

"Hawkmon! We have to go to Edogawa!" she cried.

"Okay!" he confirmed, rising into the air.

Then they rushed to the door.

"Yolei?" her mother asked.

"I have to leave, mother. A digimon has appeared in Edogawa," she explained, "I have to go!"

"Be careful, Yolei."

"Don't worry, I will."

She and her partner left the apartment. Then they ran down the stairs because the elevator was broken. On the way out, the falcon asked:

"Yolei, shouldn't you ride on me so we can be there faster?"

"Good idea," she replied after jumping down the last few steps.

On the square in front of the apartment blocks, Hawkmon began to envelop himself in a light.

"Hawkmon digivolve to... Aquilamon!" he shouted, before his partner climbed on his back.

Then the eagle flew off towards Edogawa. Once there, they saw Joe fighting a bird digimon with Zudomon. When the young man saw Aquilamon, he cried:

"This is a perfect-level digimon! Aquilamon has no chance against it! Wait until the others come!"

"But we're going to fight anyway, aren't we going to fight?" she asked the eagle.

"Yes!" he confirmed her words and landed on the ground.

Yolei climbed off his back before Aquilamon lifted himself back into the air and followed the black bird.

"What kind of digimon is this?" was her question.

"According to Izzy, a Yatagaramon," Joe replied.

"It's too fast for me," Zudomon said, "I can't catch him."

"Why don't you digivolve to your ultimate-level, Zudomon?" she asked.

"That wouldn't do anything. I can fly, but I'm still too slow."

The three watched as Yolei's partner chased behind the Yatagaramon. It flew high into the air and fired an electric charge at Aquilamon. He dodged to the side and sent several circular lasers to the enemy. But he flew to the side and dropped to the eagle with an outstretched leg. He was thrown to the ground by the force.

"Aquilamon!" shouted Yolei, and rushed to him as the Yatagaramon flew menacingly over her.

"Urgh... It's strong," the eagle said.

"Come on... Don't give up!"

Aquilamon straightened up again and flew towards the black bird. He wanted to piece it with his horns, but he did not succeed, because Yatagaramon dodged him and threw him back to the ground with a wing.

Meanwhile, Yolei gritted her teeth. It would probably take half an eternity for the others to come. And by then, her partner could be killed. She had to think a little bit, and she did it quickly. Determined, she threw a stone at the opponent's head.

"No Yolei!" Aquilamon shouted to her, straightening up.

The black bird screamed before attempting to attack her. But Zudomon stood protectively in front of her and hurled Yatagaramon away with his hammer.

"Why did you do this, Yolei?" the eagle asked her after he flew to her.

"I don't want you to be killed, Aquilamon," she admitted, looking at him.

"But it is my duty to protect you and both worlds."

"I know," she sighed heavily: "But you also have to take care of yourself. You are a friend of mine. And besides..."

She interrupted and closed her eyes.

"And besides?" repeated Aquilamon.

"You are a member of my family. You are a member of the Inoue family!" she said proudly, before her crest began to shine.

The eagle smiled at her before he wrapped himself in a light.

"Aquilamon digivolve to... Velgremon!" he shouted.

Velgremon looked like a skeletonized bird with two narrow legs, each embroidered with three claws. Two of them were facing forwards, one backwards. The body had a rust-brown colour, while two grey feathered wings held it in the air. On each of the wings sat a kind of yellow horn, which served no other purpose. The head of the skeletonized bird seemed really scary, but somehow Yolei wasn't scared at all. She knew her partner. Velgremon had three eyes. Two on the side, one on the forehead. Yellow hair was on his head. The two shoulder plates looked as if they were half-heads, while the long thin tail without a feather balanced it.

"Unbelievable," Joe marvelled: "He digivolve to his perfect-level!"

"I'm Velgremon!" he cried, "And I'm going to protect my friends."

"Why are you digivolving?" Yolei asked him.

"Because you're honest. I always wanted me to be a part of your family. You told me that and that's why I was able to digitize to Velgremon!" the skeletonized bird explained, before turning to Yatagaramon.

He flew high into the air and wanted to escape because it had not expected a sudden perfect digivolution. No, it didn't flee because of the digivolution. It fled because it was afraid of Velgremon.

Velgremon rushed after it and attacked it from above with his claws. Yatagaramon growled a little and wanted to chase its right claw in him, but he immediately stopped beating his wings and let himself be plunged into the depths. The black bird followed him, but then it noticed Velgremon putting his one wing on the ground. Then the skeletonized bird flew a circle while Yatagaramon tried to escape.

"Master of Darkness!" shouted Velgremon, creating an explosion.

The black bird screamed in pain, but flew away after the attack.

"You will not escape me," said the skeletonized bird, shooting a black laser from his forehead eye at him.

Yatagaramon disintegrated into data particles and died while Sora, Izzy and their partner arrived at the scene. Velgremon flew back to Yolei and nodded to her. Meanwhile, Zudomon returned to Gomamon.

"Who-," Sora began to ask.

"This is my partner, Velgremon," Yolei said proudly.

"Velgremon?" asked Biyomon.

"Yes. The perfect-level of Hawkmon," she replied.

Izzy opened his laptop and looked for the digimon.

"It's really Hawkmon's perfect-level," the redhead explained.

"It's unbelievable! Congratulations to you two," Joe Yolei and Velgremon congratulated.

The latter began to envelop itself in a light. First the shape changed to Aquilamon, then to Hawkmon, and finally Poromon emerged, who jumped into the arms of his partner.

"You were incredible," she praised him.

"Thank you..." he moaned: "I want to eat now. I'm hungry!"

"Okay. When we're back home, my mom will cook us something delicious."

"I'm looking forward to it!"

Yolei said goodbye to everyone and went home with Poromon in her arms.

"You see?" said Gomamon: "Your advice has made Hawkmon digivolve to his perfect-level!"

"I don't think I have anything to do with it," Joe said.

"Don't worry, Joe," Sora replied: "It helped her. Even if only slightly."

"But we should be glad that Hawkmon can finally digivolve to Velgremon," Biyomon smiled.

"I wonder what Wormmon's, Veemon's and Armadillomon's perfect-level look like..." Tentomon said.

"We'll certainly find out," Izzy replied, folding his laptop again: "And by then I'll have deciphered this old legend!"

"And by then I will have figured out what exactly our relationship with Omnimon is!" the insect exclaimed.


	21. Chapter 21 - Love and Kindness

Chapter 21 – Love and Kindness

"Help! I'm dissected!" Wormmon screamed in panic as Izzy run a few programs to analyse him.

"Analyse, Wormmon," the redhead corrected him.

"Isn't it the same?"

"Sorry, Wormmon," Ken said, "But we need to figure out why you can't fuse with Veemon anymore."

"Do you have to dissect me for this?" his partner asked.

"Analyse," Izzy moaned: "Yes... I have already analysed Kens Digivice... but I haven't found anything conspicuous. That's why it's your turn now... and later also Veemon and Davis' Digivice."

"With me you won't find anything, Izzy! So please forget the analysis!" the green insect asked him.

"Hm...", the redhead kept looking at a certain sequence of numbers: "That's weird..."

"What's weird?" asked Wormmon's partner.

"This sequence of figures... I only saw this sequence of numbers with our Digivices... Weird."

"Our Digivices?" he repeated, "And what does this sequence of numbers say?"

"That Wormmon is compatible with a crest... No... He himself carries a coat of arms in him."

"The crest of kindness," Ken quipped: "I've already wondered where it's gone."

"I'm going to extract it."

"How?!" the green insect screamed in panic: "You can't be serious!"

"I am serious. So please stop moving, Wormmon," Izzy asked him.

"Help!"

Wormmon began to run wildly through the digital space.

"Keep quiet, otherwise it will hurt more," the redhead raved.

"But I don't want that!" the green insect exclaimed: "Ken, stop him, please."

"Uh... I'm sorry, Wormmon..." his partner apologized: "If the crest can be extracted, you can digivolve to the perfect-level at some point without Veemon..."

"But I don't want to be dissected!"

Wormmon was terrified when something came out of his body. He fell to the side and did not move. Even after the something had removed from his body, he remained motionless.

"Wormmon," Ken said, "It's over."

"Ken... I'm going to die now... Live well, Ken..." his partner muttered.

"Well, don't overdo it, Wormmon," Izzy replied, "You don't die. I have successfully extracted Ken's crest from your body. Now you just have to take it and come back into our world."

"Am I really not dead?" the green insect asked.

"No!" the redhead shouted, "If you were dead, you wouldn't be able to talk to us anymore."

"Ah! Right! Well, then I just take the crest and come back to you.", so he took the crest and jumped into the real world.

"Okay... All that's missing is a container," Izzy said after Wormmon gave the crest to Ken.

"And how do we get that?" asked Wormmon's partner.

"Good question... I could actually make one."

"Really?"

"Sure... I'm happy when I have something else to do than translate this legend."

" How far have you come, Izzy?"

"Three and a half lines are now translated:

_Thirteen knights, once blessed, protected the world._

_Thirteen knights, once proud, fell into an argument._

_Alphamon, the leader, and Omnimon, the second-hand, started it all_," he paused for a short break and took a deep breath: "Then I was able to translate this here:

_Dynasmon, the Righteous._

Nothing more. But I already thought Omnimon was a part of the knights."

"Where did that come from?" asked Ken.

"Omnimon's strength, skills and the fact that he had hardly lost so far surprised me a lot..." he scratched his head briefly before sighing.

"How strong is Omnimon? I have only seen his strength once or twice."

"He can take it up with Alphamon," Izzy replied.

Wormmon's partner swallowed hard at Alphamon. He had not forgotten that he and his friends were kidnapped by him.

"But it's a success that we now know that these knights were led by Alphamon and Omnimon. But I wonder why they were arguing..." said the redhead.

"Hm... Good question..." Ken shrugged.

"However. Give me a day so I can create the container. After that you just have to wait until the crest shines. Then Wormmon, like Hawkmon, can digivolve to his perfect-level."

"Thank you, Izzy," he thanked and left the room with his partner on his arm.

He went home and began to learn. Wormmon actually enjoyed this time, because he could then hold a nap. Ken himself was pretty good at school, only some nasty tongues claimed that he was resting because of his success and therefore slipping so much. But he preferred it to be this way. Because at that time he loathed almost everything, was power-hungry and brutal. In no way in the world would he return to his old self. He was a genius... but the price was too high. In the end, his madness had also cost the life of his partner, as he gave his energy to Magnamon.

Wait a minute... Magnamon? Now he realized that Davis and Veemon weren't using Magnamon in combat... Why? Ken was sure that this Digimon was very strong and could certainly be even stronger than many ultimate-digimon. Perhaps he should address the two of them. Distracted by his thoughts, he did not hear Ms. Ichijouji come into the room and call for him. It was only when she touched him that he was startled by his thoughts.

"Huh?" he said, astonished, and blinked a few times, then turned to his mother: "Is anything, mother?"

"Your father and I want to talk to you briefly," she said.

"Okay. Wormmon, are you coming?"

"Hm?" he made and turned to the other side: "Only half an hour, Ken..."

"Okay..." he smiled softly and followed his mother into the living room.

Once there, his father sat at the table and looked quite serious. His mother sat next to his father in the chair. Ken looked briefly between his parents before sitting down.

"So... what's going on?" he asked, somewhat insecurely.

"Your performance at school is pretty bad," his father said.

"It's like there are a lot of things in my school that I don't understand... I also don't have any friends at this school," he said.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" was Ms. Ichijouji's question.

Ken sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"Because I didn't want to disappoint you," he replied.

"You never disappoint us," Mr. Ichijouji replied: "We are glad that you are so open now and eat with us... We will never be disappointed."

"Would it make you wonder if I wanted to go to Davis' school? He, Cody, T.K. and Kari are my friends after all and I would love to learn together with them."

"Why didn't you say this earlier?" his mother said, before she realized that her son was already citing the reason: "I understand... Well. Then we will talk to your teachers on the phone... But wasn't it always your dream to become an archaeologist?"

"No more," Ken shook his head briefly: "I want to be a policeman or a detective. I don't need too much of a degree for that."

"If you're sure," the father smiled.

"Thank you very much... It means a lot to me that I can learn with my friends."

"What are your friends' dreams?" asked Ms. Ichijouji.

"Davis wants to open a noodle soup restaurant chain, Cody wants to be a lawyer, Kari wants to be a kindergarten teacher, and T.K. wants to be an author," Wormmon's partner said.

"Your friends really don't have hard-to-reach dreams, well... Apart from Davis and T.K. and Cody. Ok... Just forget what I said," Mr Ichijouji said.

Ken then had to laugh.

"Don't worry, dad. I will follow my dream."

* * *

Rhythmically, the sewing machine sounded, while Sora concentrated the fabric with the said machine. She herself just sewed a cape for Biyomon. The small pink bird sat tensely on another chair and was busy with the care of her feathers. When she finished, she closed her eyes and fell asleep a little later.

Biyomon dreamed that she would fly through the air. Not as the small, pink bird, not as the firebird named Birdramon, not as the birdman called Garudamon. Biyomon flew through the air at her ultimate-level Phoenixmon

Her sharp, blue eyes didn't escape anything and she often saw a pebble from several meters high. Their four wings swung alternately, holding the phoenix in the air. The wings shimmered in the sunlight and gave them a golden hue. The two legs were angled to the body, so that one could not see the Holy Rings, which was each on one leg. The tail also shimmered in a gold and red. The upper half of the helmet and beak was golden and black, the lower one did not look very majestic, as it had a simple grey. A feather crown was emblazoned behind the helmet, which shone yellow, red and purple. This digimon also had a kind of comb in the same colours on her back. Phoenixmon was revered by most digimon as godlike. In addition, it was the only bird digimon, besides Parrotmon, that had Sacred Rings. The phoenix was known as the leader of the bird digimon, because of their holiness. It is said that she even rule over all the divine digimon.

However, these two statements were only legends. Phoenixmon herself did not believe the legends, as she was, like the others, just a normal digimon.

What exactly did the phoenix do in the air? She just liked to fly through the air. Did she really need a reason for this? No, as she thought it would. She didn't need a reason why she did what she did. Nevertheless, Phoenixmon was a very proud digimon. In general, she didn't like any stranger digimon, and she used a harsh tone to them. She didn't think she would ever change, and basically she didn't want to. The phoenix was a loner and hated to cooperate with others.

Suddenly, another Digimon came into her field of vision. She knew this digimon from hearsay. It was pretty well known. Actually, this digimon was a role model for many and it flew directly towards her.

"What gives me the honour of meeting you?" she asked unkindly.

"I just wanted to talk to you," the digimon replied.

"Talk to me?" she repeated, before laughing loudly and shrilly: "I have no interest in helping you."

"Apparently you are already informed about me."

"You are looking for allies. That's what I heard."

"Exactly. And I want you to ally with me."

"Why? Give me a reason for this," she hissed, banging angrily with her front pair of wings.

"If you care about the safety of the digital world, you should help me," he explained, looking into her ice-blue eyes.

"I refuse," she replied quickly, too quickly.

"I have heard from you. The mistress of the skies, the loner of heaven, the goddess of bird digimon. You have many names. And your reputation is just as cold," he said cold-heartedly.

"Don't pretend you know me," she flew up in the air, furiously, and then shouted at him, "If you can beat me, I'll help you."

"And what kind of competition?" his curiosity was aroused.

"A flying competition. Whoever reaches the mountain of infinity first has won. To make it more interesting..." she smiled stealthily: "I will constantly attack you while you are not allowed to do so. If you defeat me, I will join you."

"Not under these conditions."

"Then not.", she flapped vigorously with her two pairs of wings and flew away.

"Wait, Phoenixmon!" he shouted, hurrying after her.

"Leave me alone! If you don't want to compete against me under my conditions..."

"Well... I'm going to compete against you," he said.

She smiled and immediately began to put her four wings tightly on her chest.

"Starlight Explosion.", she immediately stretched her wings backwards and several yellow fireballs raced towards him.

He quickly turned to the side and to her. Meanwhile, Phoenixmon caught fire in her beak before a swell of flames shot at him. Again, he dodged. He would have liked to have used an attack to counter them, but according to their rule he was not allowed to do so, so he could only dodge.

After just over a minute, much to her anger, he had overtaken her and flew in a straight line to the Mountain of Infinity. The phoenix shot behind him and overtook him again before flying deeper. Under her, the sea roared and the typical smell of salt rose into her nostrils.

He immediately followed her and surprised her. Phoenixmon doubled her flight speed, allowing her to fly faster again and fired a blaze at him. With a skilful turn in the air, he dodged her and also doubled his flight speed until he was at the same altitude with her. Now both could see the shore of File Island. Phoenixmon, who clearly enjoyed the challenge, said:

"So, so. You are really good... No one had asked me that much for a long time... However, you are too slow..."

In doing so, she increased her flight speed and flew over the beach of File Island to a forest. She flew up and raced on to the Mountain of Infinity. With powerful wing strokes she sped up the cliff face and landed at the top. The phoenix folded her four wings before watching he land in front of her. Breathing heavily, he took a short look over the landscape and was amazed by the view.

"Stunning," he said, taking a step to the cliff before continuing his gaze over the landscape.

"This is my favourite place. From here you have a very good view... Sometimes I think about building my nest here. I like the island and the landscape... However, the mountain already belongs to someone..."

"Who?" he asked, turning to her.

"Ornithmon. He's very aggressive when it comes to defending his territory," she once sighed.

"Ah... I've heard of him. But let's leave that at that. I lost to you. That's why I'm not going to force you to go with me," he walked past her and wanted to fly off.

"Wait," she said, and went to him, "Wait, please."

He looked at her in amazement.

"I want to accompany you. Even if you lost to me, I will accompany you because you have given me a challenge," she smiled.

He nodded to her.

"Then we go, Phoenixmon... Phoenixmon... Biyomon... Biyomon!" she heard over and over again.

Biyomon opened her eyes and found herself in Sora's room. In front of her stood her partner, who looked anxiously at the pink bird.

"Something wrong, Biyomon? You talked about a competition," Sora said.

"I think I dreamed of my past."

"So the time when we travelled together through the digital world?" she tilted her head to the side.

"No... I can't really decipher the meaning of this dream."

"Hm... It's really weird now."

"Yes... But. It felt so real... I mean, the dream. It felt as real as if I had experienced it before."

"What did you dream?"

"I was at my ultimate-level and was flying through the air when I suddenly saw another digimon who wanted me to team up with him... I couldn't see this digimon so well... But I knew it. Then I asked it to take part in a flight competion, the conditions of which I decided. I was allowed to attack him while he wasn't allowed to attack me."

"And? How did it end?" she asked.

"I won... But I still joined him. After that we flew away."

"What came next?" was her curious question.

"You woke me up... Wait a minute. Why did you wake me up?" Biyomon sounded a little reproachful.

"I'm done with the cape. Try it," she said, handing her the garment.

She threw the pink cape over Biyomon's back and knotted the ends loosely in front of her neck.

"And? Do you like it?" was Sora's question.

Her partner looked over her shoulder and spotted several white birds on the edge of the garment. Between the birds was a point that was only about two centimetres in size.

"I like it, Sora," Biyomon shouted, flying to the ground and turning around his own axis: "It is also very light. Have you ever considered working in the fashion industry?"

"No, not really... It's just a kind of hobby that I developed six months ago," she said, somewhat shyly.

"I think Matt likes it."

"I sewed a shirt for him. He always wears it when we go on a date."

Suddenly the phone rang.

"I'll be back," Sora said, rushing to the hearing: "Yes? Takenouchi? Ah, Ken! What do you want? Hm? Are you looking for advice from me? Now? Well. You can come. See you later, Ken."

She put the listener back on and went back to her room.

"Who was that?" asked Biyomon.

"Ken. He's coming right away."

"Why?"

"He's looking for advice."

"But you're not really a good advisor," she said.

"But he said I was the only one he could talk to."

"Okay. Then give him your advice," she smiled.

They both chatted a little before the bell rang and Sora opened the door. Ken bowed briefly and thanked her before stepping on his arm with Wormmon. Shortly, it came to the mind of Biyomon's partner that Gennai had once disguised himself as the Digimon Emperor. She swallowed the memory and led the visitors to her room. Ken sat on the floor and waited until Sora had also made himself comfortable on the floor.

"So... Why do you need my advice?" she asked.

"It's like..." he looked to the side briefly, his cheeks slightly reddish: "I... I fell in love. And since you had the coat of arms of love, I thought you could help me. So... I want to give the person a gift... But I don't know what."

"Hm... How about poison and a dagger," she joked.

"Poison and dagger?" he repeated, his eyes widened.

"Sure. In Romeo and Juliet the first infuse poison because he thought his Juliet was dead... However, she only played that she was dead and when she awoke she saw that Romeo was dead. So she stabbed herself with Romeo's dagger and then died."

"So... that..." he stammered a little bit back and forth: "That..."

"It's a joke," she smiled.

Ken looked at her tacitly.

"You shouldn't make such jokes," he said.

"Sorry... Was just so tempting. So a gift... What does she like?"

"She likes to eat."

"Then invite her to a restaurant, which she likes."

"Hm... That's the next step..."

"Then you do Onigiri."

In Ken's mind, the image of an onigiris was formed. A delicious, triangular rice ball, equipped on one side with a narrow leaf of seaweed.

"I don't think she likes Onigiri," he waved.

"What else does she like?"

"Donuts."

"And you can't cook them, can't you?"

"Exactly. They're too complicated."

"Then just invite her to a restaurant."

"As I said. This is the second step."

"Or ask her what she likes and then give her a gift. By the way, who is she?" she looked at him curiously.

"Um..." he looked to the side.

"If I know the one, I may be able to help you with the gift."

"It's-" he stammered again.

"It's Yolei!" Wormmon interjected.

"Wormmon!" Ken rebuked him.

"What?" he innocently looked at him: "You need help, don't you?"

"But not like that," he sighed.

"Yolei is... Hm...", Sora thought a bit: "Can you noodles? She likes fried noodles."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Mother can make fried noodles, so she can teach me. Thank you, Sora for your help," he straightened up and stretched out a little.

"It happened," she smiled at him, and also stood up: "You could also invite her to you and then cook. Yes. She would like it more if you invite her to you."

"It was definitely a good idea to ask you for advice."

"She was, after all, the bearer of the crest of love," Biyomon said, smiling.

"Crests, huh...", Ken repeated and brought out his crest.

"You have a crest, Ken?" said Sora, astonished.

"Yes," he nodded: "It means kindness... But Wormmon can't digivolve to his perfect-level. I don't know why."

"Don't worry, Ken," Wormmon replied, jumping on his partner's arm: "Even if I can't digivolve, I'm and remain your partner and friend."

"I know Wormmon... And I am grateful to you for that. You are an irreplaceable friend of mine."

"At some point your crest will shine. It worked out with Yolei," Sora encouraged him.

"I wonder what your perfect-level will look like, Wormmon," Ken gently quibbled over the head of the green insect.

"I don't think I'm going to have such big changes," he said, "I think I'll look like my champion level Stingmon."

"But there can always be a drastic change," Biyomon said, "I didn't think I'd become a birdman then I digivolved to my perfect-level."

"Now, that you mentioned it. Has your perfect-level shrunk?" her partner asked.

"What do you mean by that, Sora?" was her counter-question.

"I mean in the fight against Meicoomon you digivolved to your perfect-level. You were no bigger than WereGarurumon, even though in the past you could carry us all with your hands."

"I have no idea why this happened..." the pink bird replied.

"It doesn't matter. I was just surprised..."

"We really missed something," Ken said, sighing heavily.

"Don't worry," Sora smiled: "Maybe it's been better... But how exactly did you find out that King Drasil wants to destroy our world?"

"We had help from a digimon called Kudamon," Wormmon's partner explained: "She has told us that there is a God of the digital world who is in an argument with another God. King Drasil wanted to destroy our world with the help of a digimon, while the other wanted to prevent it. We also learned that Gennai had disappeared, and that a certain Alphamon was working with King Drasil. We wanted to tell you, but we were surprised by Alphamon. He had attacked us and easily defeated Imperialdramon, Ankylomon and Aquilamon. Then he attacked us and we lost consciousness. When we woke up again, we were in a hospital."

"Who exactly is Kudamon?"

"A digimon who works with a god. However, it once served King Drasil along with twelve other Digimon."

"Similar to Guilmon. He also serves the Homeostasis."

"Are you sure Kudamon is working with the Homeostasis?"

"Yes... If she opposes King Drasil and works for another God, then this God must be the Homeostasis."

"Maybe we'll see her at some point," Biyomon said, "I'd love to meet her."

"She's a very nice digimon," Wormmon said.

"Wait a minute... Thirteen digimon serving King Drasil?" asked Sora, "If we have them as opponents, then-"

"Don't worry," Ken reassured her: "Some of them don't live. Another part we have as allies, so at least Kudamon had claimed it."

"And these allies are?"

"Kudamon, Guilmon and a year ago Hackmon."

"Kudamon had once said that she was a member of the Royal Knights," said the green insect.

"Royal knights?" the pink bird repeated.

"We don't know more," Ken sighed, shrugging, "The only thing we know is that they once served Yggdrasil and consisted of thirteen members."

"Maybe Izzy knows more," Biyomon's partner tilted her head slightly to the side.

"We should visit him. Perhaps he has already found out something about the Royal Knights. Wait a minute! The old legend that Izzy is translating... Thirteen Knights... They are the Royal Knights! This also means that Akira's partner Wanyamon was part of them. And Omnimon too!"

"Omnimon is part of the legend?!"

"Yes... I only found out about Izzy today."

"But why didn't you say something with the Royal Knights earlier?"

"Because I also have school problems and I am in love..."

"Ah... Ok. I can understand that. But we should call Izzy and tell him that the knights from the legend were called Royal Knights."

"Good idea," Ken agreed, pulling out his phone.

Then he informed Izzy of what they were talking about and stood up loudly. The redhead himself wrote down a lot and told with pleasure that he could translate another passage of text.

"Okay... The translated parts are..." Izzy began:

"_ Thirteen knights, once blessed, protected the world._

_Thirteen knights, once proud, fell into an argument._

_Alphamon, the leader, and Omnimon, the second-hand, started it all_

Then we have the passage with Dynasmon:

_Dynasmon, the Righteous_."

"Wow... Who would have thought that the legend was so...", Sora was looking for the right word.

"Amazing?" asked Biyomon.

"Exactly!"

/Why do I feel like I don't want to know more about the legend?/, the pink bird himself wondered.


	22. Chapter 22 - Relaxation

**Author's note:** Sorry for the late update. Life happened, or should I say I am currently learning a new programming language called C#?

* * *

Chapter 22 – Relaxation

Hackmon didn't know where he was at first. Under him stretched a sandy land. There were several people on it. He recognized his partner Meiko, who held her hands in front of her eyes. Another red-haired person had placed her left hand on the shoulder of the black-haired woman and somehow gave her a nod.

Next to Hackmon, Alphamon rushed to him. He dodged to the side and summoned three energetic beings who attacked the black knight with their blades. Suddenly he noticed that he wasn't at his rookie level, but he wasn't at his perfect-level either. Was that his ultimate-level?

In any case, Hackmon felt a tremendous power. His gaze wandered back briefly to the DigiDestined. He saw Meiko parting from the group, her arms outstretched.

"Meicoomon!" she shouted as she tried to run to her.

Hackmon wanted to say her name, but he couldn't. His voice failed. His mouth produced nothing. Instead, he flew over a cat-like digimon and said:

"Un Pour Tous!"

He crossed his two arms while one of his blade-like feet was in front of the other. Its shape resembled that of a triangle without the long sides. The three energetic beings moved a bit away from each other and also formed a triangle. One was on the lower left side, the other on the lower right, the last one hovering above.  
All energetic beings began to light up briefly before changing their position, so that all rotated 180 degrees. Shortly after they had their position, the three already created an energy field, which shimmered greenish. Hackmon stretched out his arms slightly backwards before ramming them into the field. It gathered enormous energy, which briefly accumulated in a hemisphere before unloading itself into a powerful beam.  
He himself felt Alphamon grab him from behind. Below the beam, he saw Omnimon pushing away the cat-like digimon. Nevertheless, they were grabbed by the beam a short time later.  
After the jet had faded in the air, he hurled the black knight to the ground with his tail blade. He still realized that it disappeared due to a distortion. Hackmon himself watched the scene a little further. Meiko stood with Matt while Tai tried to get to them. He noticed that the ground became brittle because of his attack, causing Tai, Matt and Meiko to threaten to be swallowed up by the earth masses.  
Omnimon himself raced to the three. Hackmon tried to save Meiko, but his body reacted against his will and behind him appeared a distortion into which he was dragged by an unknown force.  
Desperate, he tried to get to his partner, but it didn't help. More and more he was swallowed by the distortion, although he did not want to. He tried to call for her, but her name sounded very quiet. Hackmon wanted to scream loudly in despair, but again his voice sounded very quiet.

Hackmon shuddered and shouted:

"Meiko!"

"What's going on?" she asked, looking at him.

She held a booklet in her left hand and a pen in the other.

"I... How? What? Where? Why?" the four-footed dragon looked through the room confused and recognized Izzy's study.

He had laid down on the floor next to his partner while she was sitting on the sofa.

"Did you dream badly, Hackmon?" was her question.

"Yes! You were swallowed by earth masses. I tried to save you, but my body reacted differently than I wanted! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"What are you talking about?" she looked at him confused: "Don't you remember? We went to Izzy this morning because I have to learn with our friends for an exam. You lie down next to me on the floor and fell asleep within a few minutes."

"Ah... true, yes. Sorry."

"It's okay. The nightmare was certainly bad, wasn't it?"

"I wanted to save you, but I couldn't."

She put the pen on the table and began to claw Hackmon's head with her hand. He relaxed a little and closed his eyes.

"Who was the first president of America?" Tai asked as he read a question of his homework aloud, looking up briefly.

"George Washington," Akira replied, "The capital of America is named after him."

"Thank you," the brown-haired man wrote the answer in his booklet.

"Who followed James Madison as president?" was the brown-haired question.

"James Monroe," Akira replied.

"Thank you again."

"Hm... Which state was the last to join the United States of America and when?"

"Hawaii, August 21, 1959."

"Okay... This question is simple. Who had discovered America... That would be Christopher Columbus."

"It depends on what the teacher wants to hear... If he wants to know from a historical point of view, it would be the East Asians who crossed the Bering Strait from Asia. If the teacher wants to know which European was the first to enter America, the answer is Graenlendingar... This happened a good 1,000 years ago."

"Um..."

"You know a lot from America..." Mimi marvelled.

"No, not really," she said, pulling out a cell phone behind her booklet and showing it to the others: "I only read what's on the page."

"That's cheating," Joe said: "I don't spit. As a doctor, I have to learn so much."

"As a policewoman, I don't need to know that much. I just have to be physically fit," she smiled.

"But you also have to deal with the legal system of Japan," Cody replied: "So... I myself want to become a lawyer."

"Wow... Not bad, Cody.", T.K. was impressed: "I think I become an author and write about our adventures in the digital world."

"That's certainly going to sell well as a novel," Sora said, "I'm going to create a fashion line or run a boutique."

"Sounds pretty exhausting to write such a novel... My dream is to open a series of noodle soups," Davis said.

"We know that... I myself want to become a kindergarten teacher. I really like kids," Kari smiled.

"If everyone already presents their professional wish... I want to be an astronaut," Matt said, nodding firmly, "What's your career wish, Yolei?"

"Pilot... or just a housewife," she replied.

"Scientist," Izzy suddenly said.

"Huh?" said Ken, somewhat astonished.

"I want to become a scientist and explore the digital world further. And what do you want to do, Ken?"

"I also want to be a police officer... or even a detective."

There was a brief silence. Everyone looked back at their notebooks, mobile phones or Izzy on his computer.

"What about you, Meiko?" Tai asked her, "What do you want to be?"

"Me? Um..." the black-haired woman began to stammer: "I... Um... I..."

The brown-haired woman found it kind of amusing as she stammered and barely got anything out. After a while, however, he said:

"Calm down, Meiko... If you don't want to name your career wish, that's okay."

"It's just like that... that I want to become a scientist... I'm a bit embarrassed..."

"Why that?" asked Akira.

"Um... My father is also a scientist. That's why I found it a bit embarrassing, because I would like to follow in my father's footsteps."

"But you shouldn't be embarrassed, Meiko," Davis laughed, after which Tai threw him.

"Don't laugh at her!" he hissed angrily.

"Thank you, Tai..." Meiko said, smiling at him.

He answered the smile and went to her before gently brushing a strand out of her face. Everyone else looked at the two in disbelief, but remained silent.

"Are you two in a relationship?" Joe asked at one point, turning the two red.

"Wow... Congratulations to you two! Especially you, Meimei," said Mimi, who promptly made sure that the two turned even more red.

"Actually, it was pretty obvious," T.K. said.

"Yes... It was obvious," Kari agreed.

"I can't do it more!" Yolei suddenly shouted, slapping her head on the top of the table: "I desperately need something that relaxes me. My head is smoking because of all the learning!"

"I could use a break," Cody replied, stretching a little.

"Isn't there a school party at your new school, Tai?" asked Sora.

"Yeah... However, it still takes a good three days for the festival to begin," he said.

"How about we rest in a hot bath?" suggested Ken: "I think our Digimon would also like a bath. What do you think, Wormmon?"

His partner sat on his lap and looked up at him briefly before nodding.

"I also need a break. Translating the legend is exhausting. Still, thank you for your tip Ken," Izzy said.

"You're welcome," he said.

"What a tip?" was Palmon's question.

"He had told us that the knights were once called Royal Knights in the legend," Tentomon explained.

"The Royal Knights?" Gomamon and Patamon repeated.

"Wow... I bet these guys are incredibly strong!" enthused Armadillomon.

"Considering that Omnimon is a part of them, yes," Biyomon said.

"What?!" said Hawkmon and Wormmon, terrified.

"Now that you're talking about it," Agumon began, "I remember very darkly that as Omnimon I was a member of the Royal Knights."

"I remember it very darkly," Gabumon said.

"Why is that?" Gatomon asked her.

"We don't know," the reptile digimon replied.

"We only know what we said," the yellow dinosaur replied, "What do you mean, DemiVeemon?"

He was deeply immersed in his thoughts.

"DemiVeemon... DemiVeemon! DEMIVEEMON!," the four-footed dragon shouted.

"How? What? Is there anything wrong with Quetzalmon? Oh... She's already dead..." the little blue dragon stammered, looking to the ground depressed.

"Is there anything wrong with you DemiVeemon?" asked Davis, somewhat anxiously: "You're still grieving for this quetzalmon that you barely knew."

"I get the feeling that I knew her somewhere... but from where?"

"So I didn't know any Veemon or ExVeemon who was friends with Quetzalmon," Wanyamon raved: "And be quiet now! I want to keep sleeping!"

"We're talking about the Royal Knights, Wanyamon," Agumon said.

"Do you want to know a few members?" was the question of the in-training digimon: "Let's start with me, Dynasmon, the leader and guard Alphamon, his right hand Omnimon... the strategist Duftmon, who with the virus type Gallantmon, the newest member Jesmon, his master Gankoomon... the largest of us, Examon... I can't remember more... or are my memories too blurred..."

"All mentioned digimon connect one aspect. The system doesn't display any data," Izzy said.

"Doesn't matter!" Akira exclaimed angrily: "I want to relax now!"

"Maybe you should call your sister and her boyfriend... They certainly want to come along," Yolei suggested.

"Good idea. I'll call them right away."

* * *

A short time later, everyone found themselves in front of a thermal bath. Sera and Shin were very happy about the proposal and rushed to the bathroom at a fast pace. When everyone wanted to choose their kimonos, traditional clothes that looked like a combination of coat and dress, Akira and Sera chatted a bit.

"Do you already have a kimono, Akira?" her sister asked her.

"No... not really,"" she gazed at the selection.

"So I take the white one. And you?" she gently placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Hm... I really can't decide."

"Then take the blue one!" cried Wanyamon in her arms.

"If you want to, Wanyamon..."

"Or the purple one."

"You're no help..." Akira sighed.

She liked to find something suitable in terms of fashion, because she was very picky and she was also very sensitive to certain fabrics, as they scratched on her skin. In addition, she wore only certain colours that matched her mind. She preferred dark colours such as wine red, blue, grey and black over popping ones such as yellow, orange, white, green and so on.

"Okay... I'll take the blue one," said Wanyamon's partner, picking up the kimono.

A short time later, she was in one room with Wanyamon, Sera, Kari, Gatomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Mimi, Palmon, Meiko and Hackmon. The latter had his red cape removed from his partner so that it would not get wet when he was swimming in the water.

"Ah... I totally forgot how pleasant such baths are..." Akira's older sister groaned with delight as she supported herself with her arms at the edge of the pool.

"Yeah... There was no such thing in America," Akira replied, sighing relaxed: "But I think you want to relax because of something else."

"Akira!" she shouted.

"Come on. We live in the same apartment, have you forgotten? I hear a lot of things you do with Shin at night," she smiled at her.

"There are some things I don't want to talk about!," she dipped under the surface of the water and stayed there for a few seconds.

Akira herself laughed happily and brushed Wanyamon over his fur. He had settled at the edge of the pool. He didn't necessarily want to get into the water because his fur was sucking like a sponge and it took hours for it to dry completely.

"Hey! Don't swipe my coat like that!" he immediately complained: "Otherwise I'll be round like a bullet!"

"Really?" she tilted her head to the side and smiled, "I want to see that."

"Don't wag it!"

"Okay, okay. You are grumpy," she nudged him, laughing happily as he accidentally jumped from the edge into the water.

"Bah!" he screamed in panic: "Hey! I can't swim in this form!"

Immediately she fished him out of the water and dropped him off again.

The other female DigiDestined and her partner had watched the scene and could hardly hide their laughter.

"You can tell they get along well," Mimi said.

"That's true!" Palmon agreed.

"I think they both searched and found each other," Hawkmon said.

"Do you think so?" asked Yolei.

"Yes," the bird replied.

"They definitely have a good relationship," Sora said, leaning relaxed against the pelvic wall.

"Just like us, Sora," Biyomon said, swam toward her.

Meanwhile, Hackmon put his head on the edge of the pelvis and looked at a sign with an indistinct expression on his face. He himself could not read this, but that was not important either. Much more he thought about his nightmare.

"Hackmon?" Meiko asked him.

He didn't answer and just kept staring at his sign. His partner formed a bowl with her hands, collected water and let it trickle down from above on the head of the four-footed dragon. He was terrified and clapped into the wet. Moments later, he reappeared and looked at his partner angrily.

"Hey!" he complained.

"Don't think about the nightmare, Hackmon. Relax, that's why we're here," she smiled.

"Okay," he replied in a much deeper voice than usual.

The voice itself resembled that of his earlier life when he was still a messenger of the homeostasis. Everyone was terrified and looked at him in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" he asked again in his normal pitch, looking uncertainly at his partner: "Did I say anything wrong?"

"No..." she shook her head.

He looked at her in question before smiling and collecting water in his mouth. Then he splashed Meiko with the collected wet.

"Hey!" she cried, laughing cheerfully.

"Now we're quit," the four-footed dragon replied.

After everyone had put on their kimonos again, they found themselves in a dining room. The men themselves seemed very relaxed.

"What are we doing now?" asked Wanyamon, somewhat impatiently.

"We get something to eat," Sera replied, "What do you want, Wanyamon?"

"Hm... I try what Akira takes."

"Good. Do you please get fried noodles with chicken, Sera?" her sister asked her.

"Okay," Sera replied, walking away with Shin and a few other people.

"I want something in tempura dough, Meiko!" shouted Hackmon.

"Agreed. Vegetables, chicken or shrimp?" was her question.

"Doesn't matter! Mainly something in tempura dough!"

"Alright," she nodded to him and walked.

After a good five minutes they came back. In their hands, they held black boxes of food in them. After everything was unpacked and they started eating, Matt asked:

"Can we actually come to your school festival, Tai?"

"Of course. Friends and family members are welcome at my school at parties," he said, putting a bite of rice in his mouth.

"What will there be at the festival?" was Kari's question.

"All sorts of things," Akira replied: "A school cafe, theatre, food stalls, competitions... I believe in one you can even throw a few teachers in a water vat when you hit the target."

"Sounds like fun!" exclaimed Wanyamon.

"It is. I'm looking forward to throwing my history teacher in the vat!"

"You're horrible," Shin said softly, eating a piece of vegetables.

"What did you say, Shin?" asked Sera's sister.

"Nothing. I just talked quietly about my work."

"Okay..."

"Speaking of work... Why are there so few people here?" asked Joe at one point.

"As you know, I work for a special police unit," Shin began to explain.

"We didn't know that!" exclaimed Mimi.

"No matter. I made sure we could spend a few hours here undisturbed," the man smiled.

"It's nice when you have connections," Ken said, giving Wormmon a piece of meat that he immediately ate.

"Kind of remind me of Mr. Nishijima..." recalled Sora: "He had also once made sure that we could spend our time here undisturbed."

"Yes," Izzy nodded briefly: "He sadly died a year ago..."

"Let's not remember him any more... We should enjoy the rest of the day here," T.K. said.

"Exactly! There's great food and an awesome noodle soup!" exclaimed Davis.

"You're just thinking about noodle soups, Davis," Cody noted.

"They're delicious!" said the red-brown-haired man.

"Yeah!" agreed Yolei, who had also picked up a noodle soup herself.

After they had all eaten and spent the rest of the day in the thermal bath, they took the bus home. The Digimon had already fallen asleep, so that the DigiDestined and Sera and Shin talked quietly. They made up among themselves that they would meet at Tai's school when the school festival took place.

* * *

A few days later, everyone found themselves at Tai's school. Sera, Shin, Izzy and Tentomon settled in the school cafe and talked about the digital world.

"So... So the digital world had many reboots before we were even brought there," said the redhead.

"Exactly," the man confirmed.

"We ourselves experienced three reboots on our journey through the digital world," Akira's sister said, taking a sip of her tea.

"How did you survive this?" asked Izzy.

"We were taken to safety by someone," Shin said.

"Ah..." Tentomon said: "We've seen two reboots ourselves. Once when we defeated Apocalymon... and the other time when Yggdrasil, with the help of Meicoomon, wanted to destroy our world and forced a reboot for it."

"But this reboot cost all digimon their memories, apart from Hackmon and Alphamon."

"Could we please change the subject, Izzy?" the insect asked, "I don't remember it very fondly."

"Okay..." he sipped something on his Olong tea and then tilted his head a little to the side.

On his tongue spread a pleasant, bitter taste, which he himself always liked.

"Where are the others?" was Tentomon's question.

"Akira and Wanyamon are scared off with a creepy room and a few other students," Sera explained, "And as far as I've noticed, Matt, Sora, Gabumon and Biyomon are on the roof of the school."

"I saw Mimi, Yolei, Palmon and Hawkmon at one of the competition stalls... I think they're competing in a beauty contest," the man said, "as far as Davis, Joe, DemiVeemon and Gomamon are concerned. I recently saw them fishing for goldfish... I met Ken, Cody, Wormmon and Armadillomon in the hallway, as well as T.K., Kari, Patamon and Gatomon."

"Everyone has their own interests..." smiled Akira's sister and took another sip of her now lukewarm tea.

The four had no idea that Tai, Meiko, Agumon and Hackmon were standing in front of the school cafe and were considering going in. The partner themselves stood next to their partners and once again pretended to be stuffed animals. Suddenly the door was opened and a waitress smiled at them. Or rather, she smiled at the brown-haired man.

"Tai? Nice that you're there," she said, "Do you want a cake? It is free."

"As long as my girlfriend gets a free cake, I'll take a piece, Sakura," he said.

Sakura cast an angry glance at the black-haired man. In her mind, she threw thousands of curses at her. How could she take away her swarm? She didn't look so good with her long black hair and stupid-looking glasses.

"Sakura?" asked Tai, "We're still waiting for an answer."

"What?" she looked angrily at Meiko, who shrugged: "And who is that?"

"I... I... uh..." stammered the black-haired one.

"That's Meiko. We have a relationship," the brown-haired man explained.

"I see."

The three continued to talk. Hackmon himself seemed immersed in thoughts. The nightmare of a few days ago still plagued him. Suddenly he started to hear a voice. He couldn't classify it, but it sounded very familiar. He quickly took a look left and right to see if there were any people. Meanwhile, Sakura slammed the door in front of Tai's nose. The brown-haired man laughed a little.

"Looks like we're not getting a cake," he said with a laugh.

"Looks like that," she replied, with a slight laugh.

"It's a pity... I would have liked to have had a piece of cake," said Agumon, whose stomach began to growl.

"But there are still food stalls in the yard. There we can get something to eat," smiled the black-haired: "You can eat something in tempura dough again, Hackmon."

He did not respond. He tried to listen to the voice far too much. This was indistinct and he himself only caught a few words.

"Hackmon?" asked Meiko, kneeling down to him.

"What?" he looked at her and then to a hallway.

"Does the nightmare still bother you?" was Agumon's question.

"Yes," he said, when he suddenly started running.

"Hackmon!" his partner shouted in horror.

"Damn," Tai raved: "We told him that he couldn't just move like that."

The three rushed after him, but he had already disappeared from their field of vision. They ran up the stairs while Hackmon hid in the shadow of the steps. As Tai, Agumon and Meiko passed him, he stepped out of his hiding place and hopped on the window sill. He recognized a flowerbed and a glitter, which did not seem natural.

/What is that?/, he asked himself and rushed down the stairs to see the glitter more closely.

Meanwhile, Tai, Agumon and Meiko reached the roof.

"He's not here," the black-haired woman sighed, "Where can he be?"

"Hey. Don't worry. The most important thing is that you keep calm," the yellow dinosaur said.

"Agumon is right. If you were Hackmon, where would you go?" the brown-haired man asked.

"Hm..." she pondered and stepped on the railing: "I see him! He's at the flowerbed!"

" Then we go to him!"

Everyone walked down the stairs and entered the small backyard, where Hackmon apparently talked to himself.

"Master... Where are you?" was his self-addressed question.

Meiko approached the four-footed dragon and knelt down to him.

"Is something wrong, Hackmon?" she asked.

He briefly shook his head and then looked at his partner.

"It's just... It's nothing," he said.

The black-haired woman looked at him with a questioning face. What was wrong with him? Normally Hackmon trusted her. Why didn't he want to tell her anything? Something seemed to depress him. But what? And why did he call anyone his master? Who was his master?

"Hackmon... What's going on with you?" was Meiko's question.

"Nothing," he lied, looking to the side, making his statement not very credible.

"You're a little depressed."

"I... I will tell you one day... But not today... I... "I have to sort my thoughts.", the four-footed dragon sighed heavily, before smiling broadly: "So! I'm hungry now! I want something in tempura dough, Meiko!"

"Good," she smiled at him: "Then let's get something for you."

"Awesome!"

Both went back into the building.

"I think Hackmon is slowly beginning to remember who he used to be," Agumon said, looking after the two.

"Do you think so?" Tai tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Yes... When we saw Hackmon from the roof, he was not alone. The homeostasis was with him."

"You can see the homeostasis?" the brown-haired man's eyes widened.

The yellow dinosaur nodded before continuing:

"I could see it all at once. It seemed to be talking to Hackmon... I will ask the Homeostasis about this... or more precisely, I will ask him as Omnimon."

"I see... You and Gabumon talk to it, right?"

"But only recently. We felt his call to us and when we were in the digital world Primary Village, the night you slept, we digivolved to our ultimate-level and fused into Omnimon before we visited the Homeostasis. We learned a lot from it. Among other things, that we were once members of the Royal Knights."

"We know that now."

"In addition, one day we will have to fight Alphamon again to kill him."

"I can understand that... It was stupid to think you could save him..."

"Death is sometimes redemption... I learned this from Meicoomon's death," Agumon looked briefly at the floor before looking at his partner again.

"One more question, Agumon. Legend has it that the Royal Knights fell into an argument... What were you arguing about?" asked Tai.

"Who was the better leader. I and Gabumon felt that we should not follow King Drasil unconditionally and without questioning him. Alphamon trusted King Drasil and his judgment strongly, too strongly. You should know, Tai. Alphamon was created by King Drasil to control him and the Royal Knights and then step in and stop them during a rampage... However, King Drasil eventually began to negatively affect Alphamon... I don't know how, but it has had an effect. I and Gabumon became more and more at odds with Alphamon until we attacked each other."

The brown-haired man listened tensely to his partner. What he said sounded credible and at the same time implausible. He didn't know much about King Drasil or even the Royal Knights, but what the yellow dinosaur told him sounded incredible.

"When we attacked each other for over three hours, the other Royal Knights started arguing too. All I know is that Gallantmon and Jesmon sided with me and Dynasmon on Alphamon's," Agumon explained: "After arguing for several hours, a digimon appeared which we thought was dead, and attacked us. He killed one by one... So it killed me... As I later learned from the homeostasis, only four survived. Alphamon, Jesmon, Dynasmon and another whose name the Homeostasis did not want to be named. Together they were able to seal this digimon into the Dark Ocean... But the seal became weaker and weaker due to the many reboots and at some point it broke out again."

"Who exactly was this digimon?" the brown-haired man asked.

"I don't know, Tai. I can't remember him..." suddenly Agumon's stomach began to growl.

"This information is very valuable, Agumon. I'm going to tell Izzy."

"Wait! The homeostasis asked me not to tell anyone because it could endanger your life," the yellow dinosaur asked, before his stomach asked for food again.

"Okay...", Tai briefly closed his eyes: "Let's leave it at that."

"Thank you, Tai... I'm hungry now."

"Then we follow Meiko and Hackmon and get something to eat."

"Definitely," Agumon nodded and walked back to the school building with Tai.


	23. Chapter 23 - Servants of the Gods

Chapter 23 – Servants of the Gods

She lay comfortably under the meter-high tree and stretched her legs away. She enjoyed the rustling of the leaves as she revelled in memories. She thought back to the time when she was still arguing with Dynasmon. After a while they became very good friends until she was killed by a certain digimon. Now, ten thousand years later, she was finally reborn. She herself quickly digivolved to her ultimate-level and found some of her old comrades. So she served and executed the orders of King Drasil and nothing and no one would be able to stop their loyalty to the god...

Except perhaps her best friend, if he would meet her and tell her that following King Drasil was the wrong way to go. However, she would then try to convince him that this path was the best for everyone. She then wondered if they would fight.

With a sigh, she jumped up and stretched out. Sometimes she wondered if it was right to follow King Drasil without hesitation. But she had sworn her allegiance to him. Suddenly she heard another Digimon coming. When she saw this, she recognized him. It was a comrade of her and served like her King Drasil.

UlforceVeedramon was partially wrapped in blue Chrome-Digizoid armour, which multiplied his speed. Not without reason he was respectfully called the fastest digimon in the digital world. When UlforceVeedramon folded out its blue wings slightly, the pink inside appeared. The golden V on his chest looked almost like a collar, but in truth it was none. On the contrary, the V used this digimon to ignite an attack. His chest, abdomen and legs were covered in white Chrome Digizoid, everything else except his arms, but were wrapped in blue Chrome Digizoid. The hands were in protectors that reached to elbow. On the gloves, UlforceVeedramon wore other protectors, which also served as a weapon. From these he could extend green blades, which cut almost everything. The feet ended in three silver claws.

"Hey!" he shouted, landing right in front of her.

"What do you want, UlforceVeedramon?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"King Drasil calls us," he replied.

"And? What does he want from us?" she looked to the side.

"What do I know. He just calls us..."

"Well," she shrugged.

"You should behave better in his presence, Crusadermon."

"Yes, yes."

Crusadermon started and then flew into the air. UlforceVeedramon tacitly followed her and modelled her appearance.

She herself was clad in complete pink armour, some of which could be seen wearing a white fabric underneath. The pink armour on the chest, lower legs, part of the upper legs, shoulders, the back of the helmet and on the back of the hand was slightly darker than the usual pink. Yellow ribbons were attached to her shoulders with the help of buttons. She could form these ribbons as desired. So she could form a sword or even tie someone.  
There were yellow embellishments on the chest guard. At the upper and middle base of the leg guards was a yellow edge. At the edge of the middle approach sat a square yellow knee saver. Crusadermon's shoes ran pointed and featured a heel. On her elbow sat a pink, pointed metal part with which she could attack her opponent if necessary. There was a yellow bracelet around her left wrist, while the entire right forearm carried a shield. On it was a pink cross with a blue jewel in the middle. The shield served not only in her defence but also for the attack.  
The top of the helmet resembled that of a bird. So he was pointed at the front and back. At the temples there was a small yellow wing on each side, which served no real purpose. The mouth was covered by a white guard with a pink border.

The two Royal Knights flew faster and faster towards the World Tree. After a good five minutes they finally reached King Drasil, who had manifested himself as a tree in the digital world. The tree itself had many branches and a leaves.

Crusadermon and UlforceVeedramon landed in front of the tree and knelt down. They waited until King Drasil began to talk to them. This lasted three minutes, so the pink knight slowly became impatient.

"_You're late_," King Drasil said.

"I know, King Drasil," said the blue knight.

"So... What do you want?" asked Crusadermon, rising.

"_I want you to persecute a traitor_," the God replied.

"A traitor? Who do you mean?" was UlforceVeedramon's question: "We have some traitors."

"_Sleipmon. She's alone at the moment. Find her and kill her_," King Drasil ordered.

"Why?" asked the pink knight.

"She works with the Homeostasis. She is currently on the Server continent. You don't need to know more, my faithful knights."

"Understood, King Drasil!" cried the blue knight.

/Sleipmon.../, Crusadermon thought: /You will pay for your betrayal!/

With this, the two Royal Knights moved away and flew to the server continent. On their way there, the two took a short break on a deserted island in the sea. UlforceVeedramon rested and dozed in front of it, while the pink knight looked into the sky and watched the clouds. She wondered what her best friend was doing from her previous life.

She had no idea, however, that he had sided with the Homeostasis and was working against King Drasil. She had no idea that Dynasmon had a human partner. Crusadermon wanted to see him, even though she didn't know about it. She wanted to see him and fight him. She wanted to fight by his side and support him... After just over an hour, the two Royal Knights had rested enough and continued their journey to the server continent.

* * *

Sleipmon looked to the sky. Several bird digimon seemed to be upset about something. Not good at all... Something was in the air, she guessed. She suspected that King Drasil was looking for her and would punish her for treason. Heavily sighing, she closed her eyes and pawed a little bit with her front left hoof on the sandy ground. She always did that when she was restless. It removed her nervousness. She just hoped Gallantmon would come back soon. Then she would not be alone if King Drasil or his subordinates were to come.

Sleipmon looked into the distance and recognized a huge ship that she knew was being guided by a cocoon. She did not want to involve the digimon in the area in the fight, because it was a fight of a special kind. The opponents would be very strong and lay the whole area in ruins if it was too violent. She pondered whether she should simply stand still if King Drasil's subordinates attacked her so that they would quickly kill her. But she would regret that. Sleipmon didn't really want to fight. She never wanted to fight. She was very peace-loving.

"What has become of us?" she wondered, before she sighed heavily: "We want to destroy each other..."

Her purple eyes looked into the sky again. Several Saberdramon were still circling over her and shouting at each other.

"I wish I wasn't a Royal Knight... I just don't want to fight my mates," she said, closing her eyelids.

Again, she pawed on the ground with her left hoof.

Each black hoof was adorned with a gold ring that glistened in the desert sun. The front sides of the six lower legs were protected by red Digizoid plates with a grey-blue edge. The rear sides were covered by grey metal plates. Her upper legs were covered by black fabric, which ended in a thick red armour piece. For decoration, there was a blue S on it. Sleipmon's body was elongated and was protected by grey armour. On the back were two black boxes, bordered with a light brown-gold and knotted cord, which ended in a golden capsule.  
Although she herself closely resembled a horse, her torso resembled that of a human... at least in terms of structure. She actually wore a wolf-like red head with a pink muzzle and green eyes on her chest. Under this head ran a white piece of fabric, which reached up to her lower legs. On the fabric were a blue, mirror-inverted S and four other symbols that could not be described so well. A black belt was slung at the top of the torso, which prevented the piece of fabric from getting in her way when she moved quickly.  
Two large yellow wings perched on the back of her torso. They looked majestic and Sleipmon used them to fly. Grey, heavy-looking shoulder plates protected them from further attacks. Her two upper arms were wrapped in a black fabric, while her forearms were again protected by red Digizoid.  
She herself carried a different weapon on each arm. On the right she had a large red shield, which she called Niflheim. Muspellsheim, a crossbow of gigantic size, sat on her other arm.  
Her neck was protected by silver metal. The head covered in red Digizoid resembled that of a horse. However, it looked ridiculously small compared to her entire body. On the forehead of the head, as well as with her leg guards and piece of fabric, there was a blue S. This was mirror-inverted. The upper part of the mouth was silver, the lower part red. At the temples there was a golden piece of metal for decoration, which had similarities to a sickle moon. Sleipmon had a long purple mane and a long white tail.

The six-footed horse set in motion and walked away majestically. She raised only one hoof at a time. She knew that someone would come soon and try to kill her. She just knew. As she wandered through the desert, her ears suddenly heard a cry for help. Immediately she accelerated her pace until she fell into a gallop. When she arrived at the scene, she saw a Lopmon and a Devidramon trying to kill the hare digimon.

"Bifröst!" shouted Sleipmon, firing an arrow at the Devidramon.

He howled briefly before turning to the arrival.

"Get lost!" she commanded him with a harsh tone of command: "Otherwise I will show no mercy with you."

The black dragon growled furiously before hitting his flights and rising in the air. Then he rushed away. The six-footed horse followed him with her eyes before turning to Lopmon.

"Is everything okay?" she asked softly.

"Yes. Thank you," the hare-digimon bowed to her: "You saved my life."

"No problem. I always like to help," Sleipmon said: "I have a question. Are you living here somewhere?"

"Yes!" cried Lopmon, pointing in one direction with one of his ears: "I live there with my friends!"

"Then I bring you to them, what do you think?"

"Really?" the bunny digimon smiled broadly: "Thank you! It's dangerous to walk alone! This also applies to you!"

"Unlike you, however, I am an ultimate-level digimon. I'm strong," she said, before Lopmon tried to jump on her back.

But he was unable to do so and so the six-footed horse had to help the hare-digimon. She stretched out her hand before him. Lopmon jumped on it and Sleipmon led her hand to her back, causing the little digimon to hop on her back. Then she started to move. One step at a time, she moved to the village. Already from a distance, the inhabitants recognized the six-footed horse and panicked.

When Sleipmon finally reached the gate, Lopmon shouted:

"Don't worry! She helped me."

A Terriermon separated from the group and responded with delight:

"Lopmon! Where were you?"

"I just wanted to explore something, a Devidramon attacked me."

"And then what? Has this Devidramon digivolved to this digimon you're riding on now?"

"No. This Digimon here helped me. Say... Who are you?" the bunny digimon asked.

"My name is Sleipmon," she introduced herself to the others.

"Do you want to stay with us for a while, Sleipmon?" asked Terriermon.

"Unfortunately, that's not possible," she waved.

"Why?" was Lopmon's question.

"Why?" several other residents repeated.

"I am being persecuted... If I stay here, my persecutors will attack you. That's why I have to go now..." explained the six-footed horse.

"You'll come to visit us again, or Lady Sleipmon?" asked Terriermon.

"Unfortunately, that's not possible either," she sighed: "Forget that I've ever been here. Forget my name. Forget my existence. You shouldn't know about it."

"But," Lopmon began.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me."

"I didn't mean that..." the hare-digimon looked down: "We want you to protect the city, Lady Sleipmon."

"That's not possible," she replied softly, and began to move: "Live well. And forget that you met me."

With this she flew into the air and disappeared from the field of view of the digimon in a few seconds. She herself wanted to stay, but it would only hurt the digimon. Because she felt that she was being persecuted by someone. But she didn't know who exactly... All she knew was that King Drasil and his subordinates were looking for her. If they found them, they would kill them. Sleipmon was sure of this.

After a while, Sleipmon landed exhausted from the long flight. She was still in the desert, and far and wide she saw only streams, cacti and dunes. The sun meanwhile tilted towards the western horizon. So it would soon be night. The sky itself was now shrouded in a beautiful reddish colour. The six-footed horse lay down on the hot sand and looked into the sky. She found it very beautiful and she wished she could just rest for a few hours.

But the longer she stayed at one point, the higher the chance that her pursuers would find her. And that was the case. Shortly after she lay down to rest, she registered two well-known smells that she hadn't smelled for a long time. Sleipmon straightened up and got ready. These smells belonged to Crusadermon and UlforceVeedramon. So she was right to assume that King Drasil was looking for her and wanted to kill her. The two royal knights landed in front of her and there was a brief silence.

"Finally we have you," said the pink knight, stepping back with her right foot as she pointed her left arm and her shield at the six-footed horse.

"I knew King Drasil was chasing me," Sleipmon raved, pointing Muspellsheim at UlforceVeedramon.

"That it would come to this, Sleipmon," he replied.

Two transparent blades appeared from his arm rings.

"That's the way it is. Don't think I'll show mercy against my old comrades!" the six-footed horse shouted, firing an arrow at the blue knight.

He divided the bullet with its blades. Meanwhile, Crusadermon raced towards Sleipmon and wanted to hit her by the side with her shield. But the six-footed horse blocked the attack with her shield and then hurled the opponent away from her. Sleipmon observed the situation. Two Royal Knights, both almost as fast as she was. She estimated her chances of survival at 10 percent. Nothing more.

Now the blue knight came to her and wanted to bring her down with a punch in the face. But she dodged in the air and fired two arrows at her former comrades. They dodged the bullets and rushed after her.

"Odin's Breath!" the six-footed horse shouted, pointing her sign upwards, creating a blizzard.

"Spiral Masquerade!", Crusadermon moved barely visible to the eye and injured Sleipmon with her ligaments several times, so she had to interrupt her attack: "Urgent Fear!"

Now the pink knight rammed her shield into the six-footed horse and hurled her to the ground. A dull bang created a sand cloud and caused Sleipmon to disappear for several seconds. UlforceVeedramon raced into the cloud, but couldn't see anything. But he heard that the opponent was approaching.

However, he reacted too late. Sleipmon kicked him with her back hooves and hurled him several meters away. The blue knight rose up again and crossed his arms in front of the golden V. Then he let go of a bright beam. The six-footed horse held her shield in front of her and blocked the attack. She then shot an arrow at UlforceVeedramon. Again he divided it with his blades. Sleipmon was now looking for Crusadermon, who had apparently disappeared without a trace... But she knew each other. The pink knight wanted to attack her in a blind spot. But where? Where did Crusadermon want to attack them? Suddenly she felt a burning wound on her right hind leg.

/She uses her Spiral Masquerade.../, she thought to herself and lifted her shield in the air: "Odin's Breath!"

Sleipmon knew this was the best way to prevent the pink knight from continuing her attack. A blizzard swirled around the six-footed horse, slowing Crusadermon's movements down a lot. When Sleipmon saw her, she rammed her massive body into hers and hurled her away. At that very moment UlforceVeedramon rushed to her and injured her with his blades on her middle left leg. He wanted to injure another leg, but the six-footed horse shot an arrow at him. The blue knight jumped away, so the bullet missed him. Meanwhile, Crusadermon had risen up again and threw several red petals at her. Sleipmon was a little confused. Why should the pink knight throw petals at her? Then it came to her mind. It was one of her attacks! But before she could react, the leaves collided with her body, inflicting serious injuries on her.

"Damn... it..." she quipped: "I'm... not done... yet..."

"You are done," Crusadermon said simply, stepping toward her.

Sleipmon fired another arrow at her, but she split it with one of her tapes. The Royal Knight came closer and closer to the six-footed horse. She brought her down with her shield. When Sleipmon wanted to rise up, the pink knight chased her shield into her again. UlforceVeedramon also came and held the six-footed horse's body to the ground with his hands. She slapped her tail after the blue knight, but he was unimpressed. Sleipmon closed her eyes when she saw the pink knight aiming one of her ribbons at her neck.

"Odin's... Breath..." she created an ice storm around herself and the two opponents.

"What?!" said UlforceVeedramon, terrified.

"You!" hissed Crusadermon.

"You will now freeze with me in the eternal ice!" the six-footed horse cried, "See this as your punishment to fight against the good of the world!"

"You're an idiot, Sleipmon!" the pink knight raved: "The Homeostasis is nothing but a myth, so you can impose your will! Urgent Fear!"

Again, she rammed her shield into Sleipmon's body. However, she was prepared for this and did not interrupt the attack. Slowly, the ice of her attack began to settle on the three digimon. Suddenly a fourth voice shouted:

"Final Elysium!"

An energy blast hurled Crusadermon and UlforceVeedramon from Sleipmon. She ended her attack and straightened up. Then she shook her body to get rid of the ice. Next to her appeared Gallantmon, who had his shield in front of him, ready to ignite another attack.

"Thank you..." said the six-footed horse.

"The next time you want to freeze yourself and your opponents, please don't do it in the desert," the white knight replied.

"Ah...", now she understood it: "Because of the heat... That's why my attack was so weak."

"You're a good fighter, but you don't pay much attention to the weather..."

"Do you have to say that again, Gallantmon?" she asked.

However, she sounded very pleased with his rescue.

"Good. Two against two," UlforceVeedramon said.

"You can still escape, my old comrades. It would be wise if you did that," Gallantmon said.

"Why?" was Crusadermon's question.

"High in the clouds there is a third digimon standing on our side," the white knight explained, looking briefly into the sky.

The two Royal Knights followed his gaze, but could not see anything.

"You bluff, Gallantmon. I thought you couldn't bluff," said the pink knight.

"I don't bluff, Crusadermon... The third digimon is up there. If you really want to know, fly up and look for the digimon. But I am sure that he will destroy you. So withdraw! I'm reluctant to attack former comrades."

UlforceVeedramon crunched his teeth before hitting his wings. Then he flew into the air and sped off over the heads of Sleipmon and Gallantmon. Crusadermon immediately followed him, but briefly glanced over her shoulder at the two. Then she rushed away.

"I really didn't know you could bluff so well, Gallantmon," Sleipmon said after the two Royal Knights disappeared from their fields of vision.

"I don't either," he replied, "but it worked."

He sighed heavily.

"I can imagine what you want to say now," she let her weapons disappear and put a hand on her comrade's shoulder.

"Once again we have to fight against our comrades..." he said, his eyes closed.

"You can't change it... I don't want to either," she sighed heavily, looking into the distance.

Apart from dunes, cacti and stream edits, she could see nothing. Perhaps she saw a digimon wandering through the area. But maybe she just imagined it. Again, a heavy sigh escaped her throat. She recalled when she passed on information about King Drasil and his plans to Davis and his friends as Kudamon. Then she recalled that she had once fought her former comrades.

"I don't want to fight our former comrades..." she repeated, looking at the sandy ground.

"Sleipmon..." Gallantmon said.

"Why? I don't want all of this..."

"If we remain neutral, King Drasil will have a better chance of winning... Unfortunately, that is the case. And we both don't want him to win," he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I hope the DigiDestined can finally defeat King Drasil."

"Speaking of the DigiDestined. We have received an order from the Homeostasis..."

"Really?" she looked at him: "Well. What is the order?"

The white knight began to report the order from their God. Sleipmon listened silently and nodded her head. When Gallantmon had finished the news, the six-footed horse said:

"Good... Then we step into action."

* * *

"_You let Sleipmon escaped_?!" thundered King Drasil's voice.

Crusadermon and UlforceVeedramon shrugged a bit at the hard tone. In addition to the two were two other digimon, Craniamon, who always guarded the tree and did not leave it, and Gankoomon, who was barely at his lord' house.

Craniamon's hips, legs, chest and arms were covered in purple Chrome-Digizoid, the metal that had strong resistance. Under the armour wore a light purple fabric. His five-fingered hands held a double-edged spear in one hand. He used it for one of his attacks. Craniamon had a golden skull belt, from which hung down a piece of fabric with embroidery. Behind his shoulder plates, the outer edge of which was purple and the middle black with a golden skull in the middle, was a sting on his shoulder. The golden skull on his shoulder plates was framed by a red "ring" a few centimetres wide. The toes of this digimon were deformed to light purple claws. The helmet looked like a skull. Behind the slits, two blood-red eyes stared out, while the mouth was protected by a golden shield that looked like a row of teeth. Two horns with a purple tuft of hair also protruded from the helmet. In general, his figure seemed very devilish and frightening.

Gankoomon himself resembled a man which was too big. His hair and beard resembled fire in colour and revealed his temperament. In addition to the nasal wings, there were also two black hairs that seemed to override every law of physics, as they only moved when Gankoomon spoke. His eyes were obscured by a silver visor. Gankoomon was much smaller than the other three Royal Knights present. If Omnimon had been placed by his side, he would only come to his lower part of the chest. The digimon herself wore a black full-body suit that showed off her muscles well. He wore a silver plate on his chest to protect against attack, while casually hanging a white jacket from his shoulders. His two feet were also in red getas, Japanese sandals.

"Gallantmon came to her aid," the blue knight said.

"_Your apologies are of no use to you! I have given you an order that you have disregarded_!" cried the God.

"King Drasil," said the pink knight: "Gallantmon really came to her rescue."

"_And then you can't even fight both_?!" King Drasil screamed angrily.

"We are sorry that we failed, King Drasil," UlforceVeedramon apologized.

Gankoomon laughed.

"If you had taken us with you, we could have killed the two," he said.

"Instead, they escaped and we can't find them anywhere now," Craniamon said, entwining his arms in front of his chest.

"And you could have done it, couldn't you?" UlforceVeedramon looked angrily at the man.

"Sure," he replied ironically, laughing at him.

"You two are looking for speed," the purple knight explained: "Sleipmon is also pretty quick, which is why she managed to escape you."

"But it wasn't like that!" Crusadermon exclaimed angrily: "We had Sleipmon and wanted to give her the death blow when Gallantmon showed up and helped her."

"Furthermore, Gallantmon said they had a third ally who would help them high up in the clouds," UlforceVeedramon said.

"_Silence_!," King Drasil's voice thundered: "I have a play. Listen closely."

The God reported on his plan. When he was finished, the blue knight bowed and flew away. Gankoomon himself briefly changed his eyes with the other two knights before turning around and walking.

"Very well," Crusadermon bowed and flew away.

A few minutes later, she landed in front of a cave and stepped in a little. She sat down and watched as it began to rain. Drop by drop fell from the sky to earth. If she had known that the cave had served as a shelter for the DigiDestined a year ago, she would have left the cave immediately.

King Drasil let his subordinates design their own free time. Some moved around the country, others spent their time training. But in both cases the Royal Knights waited for orders from the God. The pink knight began to remember something from her previous life.

* * *

Crusadermon wandered through the digital world. She had no goal. So she wandered aimlessly through the area. Sometimes she versed or sang for fun for herself. Her poems or songs were often about her as she travelled the digital world.

"_Alone through the world_

_Let's see what it thinks of me_

_I wander on bright stone_

_My fate is mine_," she said.

Suddenly, she caught the figure of a lying digimon. The body of this was obscured by its large, purple wings. One of the purple wings appeared to have been dislocated, as it lay like a blanket over the body of the unknown digimon. The pink knight immediately rushed to the stranger and knelt down to him. She shook his shoulder to wake him up.

"Hey... wake up!" she said, shaking the digimon.

"Hm... ow...", the digimon moaned.

"Wake up!" cried Crusadermon.

"I'm awake. Don't shake me to death..."

"Ah, sorry," she paused for a moment, before asking, "What happened to you? You're pretty badly hurt..."

"So what about it?!"

"I just want to help you. But if you don't need my help then…" she trailed off.

"Tch. I'm way too weakened to get upset about it," the stranger replied, trying to get up.

An unbelievable pain shrugged his body and left him banging on the floor again.

"What happened to you now?" she impatiently demanded the answer.

"Tch... An Ornithmon caught me when I flew through the air. It pierced my right wing with one of its attacks, so I fell into the depths. I thought I was going to die..."

"Hm... I can see that the wing is dislocated," she said, groping at the base of the wing in question.

Immediately, the stranger digimon growled in pain and slapped her with the other wing.

"Hey!" she complained when near the wings had hit her: "I'm trying to help you!"

"By inflicting pain on me?"

"By trying to adjust your wing! If it stays in this position, it will inflict even more pain on you."

"Well... Then do it..."

"Good," she nodded and grabbed the narrow part of it with her two hands.

Then she pulled jerky on the wing and made sure that the stranger gave a sound of pain before letting go of the wing.

"Argh! Do you want to kill me?!" the digimon shouted.

"For being an ultimate-level digimon, you're pretty sensitive," she shrugged defiantly.

"Fight for once against an Ornithmon..." he growled.

"I have done this already... They are quite strong... Especially what lives on the top of Mountain Infinity."

"I know…"

"Should I help you?"

"Would be nice."

As he got up, she put an arm around her shoulder, helping him to stand more stable. Then they began to move, with every step of the stranger causing him pain. After just over four minutes, Crusadermon saw something.

"Ah!" she said: "So that's growing here..."

"What?" he asked angrily.

"This herb there," she pointed out with a head gesture: "It has a numbing effect. If I had seen it earlier, I would have given you something against the pain of dislocated the wing."

"And you don't see that until now?!"

"I've never been here... Um... What is your name?"

"Why do you want to know?!"

"I helped you," she replied with an arrogant-sounding tone.

"Fine... Dynasmon is my name."

„Crusadermon."

"I have heard of you before."

"Really?" she tilted her head a little to the side.

"Yes... You are called The Pink Flash."

"Oh yes... That title I never wanted. I call myself the Red Rose, which doesn't wither. She always wanders on unknown paths-"

"Stop! I can't take it..." he sounded a little disreputable.

"What? It's fun."

"Okay."

The two then began to continue on their way together. It would certainly take a long time for them to be recognised as Royal Knights. At the moment, their friendship grew with each passing day. They supported each other in fights and told each other all sorts of things. Although sometimes they argued, especially then Dynasmon lost to her. Then he always insulted her. But Crusadermon took it easy, knowing they would get along again.

* * *

Crusadermon scared up... She must have fallen asleep in the cave. She had dreamed of meeting Dynasmon for the first time. How long ago that was... And although she was reborn, she remembered him, her best friend, who always got her back. She had no idea that he was actively working against King Drasil and had allied himself with a human being. But surely she would find out one day.


	24. Chapter 24 - Challenges

Chapter 24 – Challenges

Three figures flew across the sky of the digital world. Two of them repeatedly dodged the attack of the third. This activity was observed by four humans. Akira just stretched in boredom and dropped her torso into the grass. Why did Dynasmon have to help SaviorHackmon? Had it anything to do with the Royal Knights?

Tai and Matt chatted quietly about the legend. As they turned around in circles, they changed the subject of studying in America.

Meiko herself watched anxiously her partner, SaviorHackmon. He just parried a sword blow from Omnimon. As the dragon man flew higher into the air, Akira's partner approached him from behind and hurled him to the ground with his left claw. SaviorHackmon, who was equally surprised and shocked, couldn't catch himself and hit the ground with a dull sound. This created a cloud of dust, which quickly dislocated.

"SaviorHackmon!" the black-haired woman shouted in horror and rushed to him.

"Bah! I have earth in my mouth!" he said, straightening up before shaking.

"Are you alright?"

The dragon man looked briefly at his partner, while his eyes narrowed slightly. Then the lids widened again, while a similar scenario played out darkly in SaviorHackmon's thoughts. The dragon man was pulled out of his thoughts when Omnimon and Dynasmon landed next to him.

"You're fine," Omnimon said after looking briefly over the dragon man's body.

"Yes... I only have earth in my mouth," SaviorHackmon said, spitting out the earth with a groan: "Bah... I hate it when I have earth in my mouth..."

"If you just complain about that..." Dynasmon said, looking at Akira, who rose up and stood up to him.

"What exactly happened?" asked Akira.

"I attacked SaviorHackmon from a blind spot and threw him to the ground," her partner said.

"That's not fair, Dynasmon," she looked at him reproachfully.

"Hey! In a real fight, the opponent can attack from the blind spot!" he immediately defended himself.

"Yes... I was absolutely terrified," moaned Meiko's partner.

"But unfortunately, if they attack in a blind spot they gain the upper hand in a fight," Omnimon said.

There was a silence. After just over a minute, Akira bit her lower lip impatiently. She generally didn't like being silent for so long.

"Do you want to continue training?!" she asked annoyed.

"No... It's enough for me now," SaviorHackmon said, somewhat insulted, before returning to Hackmon.

Omnimon also digivolved back to Agumon and Gabumon. Both Digimons were actually pleasantly surprised that they digivolved not to their in-training level, but to their rookie level. That was actually a good sign. Both were apparently accustomed to the fact that they now had to fuse into Omnimon more often.

"Hm? Why didn't you go back?" asked Akira Dynasmon.

"Have you forgotten, human?"

But this caused his partner to snort him aggressively:

"What am I supposed to have forgotten, digimon?!"

"Hey!"

"Well, what should I have forgotten?!"

"That I can only create distortions on my ultimate-level!"

"And why have you created one on your in-training level?"

"What do you mean?!"

"When we first met Doc Azuma, you created a distortion at your in-training level, have you forgotten?" she folded her arms in front of her chest.

"That's true. However, it is far less strenuous to create a distortion at my ultimate-level than at my in-training level."

"And then there was the thing where we travelled through the digital world!"

"The first time or the second time?" he growled.

"Akira!" suddenly Matt shouted.

She and Dynasmon turned to the blonde-haired man.

"We want to get back into our world soon," Matt said.

"Okay, okay. But he started!" she raved.

"No, you are the one!"

"Pah! You're way too stubborn for your own good!"

"I am not too stubborn for my one good!"

"Then shut up!"

Dynasmon grabbed Akira by her shirt with two of his claws and lifted her up to his face.

"I just became your partner because I wanted to get stronger!" he growled: "That's why you don't need to tell me what to do and what I have to leave!"

"Hey, you two!" Tai shouted now: "We want to go back to our world. There we are better protected from King Drasil!"

"Okay, okay!" said Akira's partner, letting her go, so she hit the ground from a few feet high.

"Next time, please sit down!" she hissed, straightened up and removed the dirt from her clothes with her hands.

Dynasmon did not pay any further attention to them, but created a distortion through which the Digiritter and her partner digimon went.

* * *

Ken and Cody sat opposite to each other and looked at each other tacitly. Then they lowered their heads with heavy sighs, while their partner digimon Wormmon and Armadillomon played happily together. All four were in Ken's apartment. The two humans have been pondering for a while. Next to them steamed tea in two opaque glasses that Ken's mother had prepared. Now Cody's partner was hopping on the bed. Wormmon looked at him briefly before smiling and joining him. Then they both jumped happily on the sleeping place. At some point they didn't want more and just laughed.

"How can we make it?" Cody asked his friend, taking a sip of tea.

"I have no idea... Izzy always says: Whoever seeks new strength must overcome his darkness," he said, folding his hands in his lap.

"I don't think that will work until we want to have our partners digivolve to the ultimate-level. So... How do we let our crests shine so that Wormmon and Armadillomon can digivolve to their perfect-level?"

"My crest means kindness, yours justice... But how can we prove that we are kind and just?"

"Good question..."

"I have no idea."

"With Yolei, it was that Hawkmon always wanted to be a part of her family. Maybe it's because of that."

"Your approach is good... However, our family members already know that we are DigiDestined and have partners."

Ken deliberately did not say parents. For Cody his father had already died. He had protected a friend from a crime, so the bullet had drilled into his chest. Cody's father then collapsed and died at the scene.

"How did Meiko activate her coat of arms?" asked Ken at one point.

"According to Tai, she believed in herself that she was strong..." his friend replied.

"Strength... That's her crest, isn't it?"

"Yes..." he nodded before he thought: "Armadillomon, Wormmon. What do you want or do you want to achieve so strongly that you would do everything you could?"

He recalled that Hawkmon desperately wanted to become a member of Yolei's family.

"Hm...", the green insect pondered: "So I want me to win as a stingmon against an perfect-level digimon."

"That's weird," the armadillo laughed: "I want that too!"

Both Ken and Cody looked at their partner tacitly.

"T-that..." Wormmon's partner stammered.

"How can we find someone who fulfils your desire and does not kill you?" his friend asked.

"Um..." said Armadillomon.

"How about we were to help you," said a female-sounding voice.

In the middle of the room were Guilmon and also a white weasel with several golden drawings on the body. It wore a gold ring around its neck, while the tail ended in a kind of golden bell. The ears of the weasel were long and at the top dark blue. On one of the ears it wore a red earring. The nose of the digimon was pink, while the golden eyes were looking at the humans. The weasel ran on two legs, which looked strong compared to the slender body. The two arms hung loosely to the side. There were three red claws on both the arms and the legs.

"Kudamon!" cried Cody in amazement.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" she replied softly.

"Yes," Armadillomon said.

The armadillo remembered who Kudamon was. She had once given information about King Drasil to Davis, Cody, Yolei and Ken, as well as their partners.

"What exactly do you mean that you would help us?" asked Ken.

"We will fight your digimon," Guilmon said.

"But we take care that we don't overwhelm them," the weasel said.

"But here? In our world?" the eyes of Armadillomon's partner widened.

"No. This would be too dangerous, because then people could be drawn in," Kudamon replied, before briefly shrugging her ears.

Behind her and the red dinosaur appeared a distortion.

"We're going to fight in an interim dimension," Guilmon said.

Both DigiDestined looked at each other briefly and nodded. It was a really good idea to fight them. Together with the two digimon and their partner, they jumped into the distortion and reached another dimension.

"So... Here we are," said the red dinosaur: "Guilmon warp-digivolve to... WarGrowlmon!"

You could already see that WarGrowlmon was Guilmon's perfect-level, as it had also red scales. Like his rookie level, he walked bent over two powerfully built legs, each ending in three white claws with black lace. On the foot were one large and two small triangles. The top of the large triangle pointed towards the claws, while the two smaller ones sat on the flat side of the large triangle. There was also such a triangular symbol on the knees.  
However, the two smaller triangles sat on the long, upper side. Around the thighs was a ring with golden engravings. The Digimons' belly was white, while he wore a kind of jet pack with two scoops as a protection from his chest. The bottom of the jet pack was silver, while the top had a dark red. On the protection was the distinctive triangle symbol, which Guilmon also wore on his chest. Two metal parts that WarGrowlmon used to fly protruded from the jet pack.  
A long "metal tail", which had no function, hung rigidly from the chest guard. WarGrowlmons' mouth and temples were protected by red metal, which was not a Chrome Digizoid. The yellow eyes seemed rather scary, although WarGrowlmon was a gentle digimon. The white-silver mane would blow in the wind if there had been natural forces in the intermediate dimension.  
The arms themselves were wrapped in grey metal. Especially the forearms wore strong protectors with a large blade. The long, red tail was black at the top, while before that two also black rings were pulled. Close to the base of the tail was also a black ring. In general, WarGrowlmon looked as if he had had an accident with a machine. He didn't really like his perfect-level, because he was a lot slower than his rookie or ultimate-level.

"Kudamon warp-digivolve to... Chirinmon!" she shouted.

Chirinmon had a more noble and elegant shape than WarGrowlmon. She walked on four legs, which were decorated in front of the hooves with gold rings and a white metal part that looked like a cloud. The lower legs were black, while the upper legs and part of her body were wrapped in a beige fabric.  
She herself wore greenish plates with yellow edges around her body. The plate on the back was fastened by a grey strap. From two green plates protruded yellow jagged metal parts, which in turn ended in white feathered, large wings.  
Chirinmon's neck was covered in green scales, while the front featured white-silver scales. The head looked like a mixture of dog and dragon. Part of the head was protected by a greenish armour, which ended in two horns. Below the horns were ears, the inside of which was green and the outside yellowish. The black nose didn't help her smell much. But she didn't mind it too much. Instead, she relied on her two bright beard hairs, which were attached to the lower, white side of the head.  
On Chirinmon's forehead sat a red, long horn. Behind the three horns was a red-orange mane, which mixed with the white underside of the head. But you couldn't describe it that accurately. The yellow tail of the digimon was winding at the tips in itself and did not appear very mobile. Nevertheless, Chirinmon could be seen to be able to become very fast.

"Then we want to, or Armadillomon?" said Cody, looking at his partners.

"Okay!" he replied: "Armadillomon digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

"Wormmon, are you ready?" asked Ken Wormmon.

"Yes! Wormmon digivolve to... Stingmon!" he said.

"Before we start fighting," WarGrowlmon said, "We should identify who is fighting whom."

"Good idea," Chirinmon agreed: "I'm faster than WarGrowlmon, but I'm not that strong for that."

"Then I'll fight you," Stingmon replied firmly.

Kudamon's perfect-level nodded toward him and flew several meters away. Meanwhile, Ankylomon and Guilmon's perfect-level also moved away from the humans. WarGrowlmon immediately sent two energy shakes to Cody's partner. He was able to dodge to the side with difficulty, but one of the shakes hit his side, so that he fell on the unrecognizable ground.

Ankylomon straightened and ran to his opponent in a slow gallop. Then he threw himself at it. Guilmon's perfect-level, however, caught him with his arms and hurled him back on the ground. Cody's partner then rammed his morning star into WarGrowlmon's stomach, but that didn't seem to make much of a point to him as he grabbed him by the tail. He swirled four times around his own axis before letting go of Ankylomon, so that he was thrown by him. With a dull impact, he was left lying.

"Ankylomon!" cried Cody, and wanted to run to him.

"He's not done yet," WarGrowlmon said, "Let's go! Get up again, Ankylomon!"

He awkwardly straightened up and looked at his opponent. He was breathing heavily, but he didn't want to give up. He had to keep fighting.

"It's enough... Ankylomon..." his partner said, "You have no chance against him..."

/Cody... I will... win.../, Ankylomon thought, before screaming angrily and running to his opponent.

WarGrowlmon wanted to laugh at his stupidity, because Cody's partner had experienced that this was of no use. But he didn't want to make him angry and waited for what Ankylomon was up to this time. To his disappointment, he wanted to throw himself at him again. With two energy surges, Guilmon's perfect-level hurled him away. Cody clutched his digivice and looked at his partner as he ran back to WarGrowlmon. Again and again he did this, although it brought nothing. After a short time, Ankylomon lay heavily breathing and barely raining on the ground.

Meanwhile, Stingmon tried to dodge Chirinmon, but she was much faster and kicked him in the stomach with her hind legs. The insect man was thrown through the air, but caught himself and drove out his purple blades.

"Spiking Finish!" he shouted, aiming at her.

But Kudamon's perfect-level flew into the air and flapped with her wings.

"Holy Wave!" she sent an invisible wave of energy that Stingmon captured and threw to the ground.

Then Chirinmon rushed towards him and held her red horn by his throat. However, the insect man kicked her and flew several meters away for safety. Kudamon's perfect-level measured him with a calm look before she quickly rammed him with her body. Stingmon stumbled and tried to stand against her. But he had his difficulties for two reasons. First, his opponent had rammed him at incredible speed, which already built up certain strength. And secondly, Chirinmon, though she had said she was weak, had an indescribable power. The insect man could no longer hold and was thrown several meters through the air. He slammed to the ground with a dull noise. Chirinmon approached him. She didn't expect him to attack her in any way. However, he did. With last force he kicked her in the face, before his forces left him and he lingered exhausted on the ground. His opponent was able to catch up quickly and went back to him.

"That's ridiculous," she scoffed, "I thought you'd be stronger."

"Stingmon!" shouted Ken and rushed to him.

"Ken..." he quipped, but couldn't stand up.

"If this was a real fight, I would have killed you now... together with your partner," she said, looking disappointedly at the two: "You lack strength and willpower. How do you ever want to win against King Drasil and defend humanity?!"

"I... don't know," Ken bowed his head in shame.

"Then give me your crest and your digivice," Chirinmon asked him.

"What?!" he said, terrified.

"You are weak and unkind," she deliberately provoked him.

"That's not true!" Stingmon exclaimed angrily: "Ken is the kindest person I know!"

"Why did you lose to me?" was her question.

"Because you're way too fast for Stingmon!" his partner argued.

"Too fast? I told you that I am fast, former Digimon Emperor."

"Stop calling me that! I have already paid enough for my actions as the Digimon Emperor!"

"Really?" she looked at him: "If that were the case... Why is your Digivice still black?"

"It's just black!" Ken remarked as he grew increasingly angry, closing his eyes.

Then he took a deep breath.

"Because you dyed it like this," Chirinmon said, "I'll tell you one thing. If Stingmon doesn't manage to digivolve to the perfect-level, he will sooner or later go back to the digital world and leave you alone."

"You can't judge me for my Digivice. In addition. Even if Stingmon could never digivolve to his perfect-level... he remains my friend," Ken replied, turning to his partner.

He nodded to him. The young man looked at him kindly.

"You know, Chirinmon... I have friends who appreciate me. And I have my parents who support me. My partner taught me kindness. This allowed me to make friends! And if you don't see that, then you're blind!" his crest began to shine.

"Stingmon digivolve to... JewelBeemon!" his partner shouted.

JewelBeemon could be described badly and generally it looked very funny. He wore green armour with several bright yellow bubbles that sat on his arms, thighs, chest and forehead. The insect man had two forward-facing claws on his feet and a backward-facing claw. In his right hand, he held a rod with a star-like, blood-red tip. JewelBeemon, like his champion level, also had four wings on his back and two feelers on his head.

"Thank you, Ken," his partner thanked: "Finally I'm able to digivolve to my perfect-level."

"Very good," Chirinmon nodded to the two of them: "Then we keep fighting!"

Meanwhile WarGrowlmon also insulted Ankylomon and Cody.

"Pathetic!" he grumbled: "Weak."

"You have not shown any mercy," the boy replied.

"I have shown no mercy?" he repeated, growling: "I haven't even used one-eighth of my strength... You are just looking for the blame for others and not for yourself!"

"So we had... from the beginning... no chance against... you...", moaned Cody's partner.

"Yes. According to your skill already. I've never seen such weak adult-level digimon in my entire life," WarGrowlmon said, angrily banging his tail on the ground: "It's no wonder Alphamon beat you a year ago... as weak as you are."

"I'm sorry," Cody apologized.

"You don't need to apologize... Cody," Ankylomon said, "It's my fault... In a real fight, I would be dead now because I'm just so weak."

"Each trait influences others to reach the next form," explained Guilmon's perfect-level: "But what happens to those who can't reach the next form?"

"They're going to be killed," the boy quipped.

"Exactly," his partner agreed.

"You can be glad that we two are on your side... Otherwise you would be dead now! You are a disgrace to the DigiDestined!" raved WarGrowlmon.

Cody gritted his teeth and hugged his partner's neck. What a shame it was to be defeated. Had only he been stronger, they could have defeated WarGrowlmon.

"I'm sorry, Ankylomon..." the boy muttered.

"Don't apologize, Cody... We may be weak... but we are still friends.", Ankylomon forced himself to smile.

"Friends... I hate injustice," Cody replied sadly: "Everyone must experience justice, whether digimon or human..."

"I believe in Cody as well. Although I'm just wondering how you get justice..."

"It doesn't matter now... We will make it as friends."

Cody put his right hand on Ankylomon's head and nodded firmly to him. His partner straightened up. His legs were shaking, but he had gained new strength. Not because he was able to rest for a short time, but because Cody had encouraged him to continue.

"I will never give up on Cody's side," Ankylomon said.

"And I'm never going to let you insult us just because we're not as strong as you are! You just insult us because you expected something better. You said that you only use one-eighth of your real power, but you have used your full strength, haven't you?! Is that fair? No, it's not!" the boy shouted.

"How do you think I'm lying?" asked WarGrowlmon.

"Because otherwise you would have defeated Ankylomon on his first attack! I hate lies, I hate injustice."

"But this is happening, Cody. You can't prevent it. Crime is caused by inconsistency or greed. Such criminals deserve death," said Guilmon's perfect-level, though he believed otherwise.

"No one deserves death! Everyone has a right to live. Everyone has a right to justice!" shouted Cody as his crest began to shine around his neck.

"Do you really believe that?" was WarGrowlmons' question.

"Yes!"

The crestshone brighter than ever and enveloped Ankylomon.

"Ankylomon digivolve to... Brachiomon!" he shouted.

Brachiomon looked like a certain dinosaur with a long neck and four legs. His entire body was covered with yellow scales and blue stripes. The brown-red eyes looked down on Cody. The forehead to the muzzle was covered with brown scales, while above the eyes there was a grey horn.

"You... You have digivolved," Cody said, astonished.

"That's me. And I have enough strength again!" said Brachiomon.

"Then show it to me!" WarGrowlmon asked him.

* * *

Both Minomon and Upamon slept on Ken's bed. Both were completely parched by the fight against Chirinmon and WarGrowlmon. Although both have digivolved to their perfect -level, they had no chance against the two.

"Congratulations," Guilmon congratulated them: "Your partners have finally digivolve to their perfect-level."

"Thank you," Cody smiled.

"Why exactly did you want to fight our partners?" asked Ken.

Kudamon and the red dinosaur looked at each other briefly.

"So you assume that we did not act without a reason," the weasel noted.

"Yes. I don't think anyone is acting without a reason. There's always a reason why someone wants to achieve something," the young man said.

"King Drasil is planning to attack your world in seven places soon," Guilmon said.

"What?!" Cody said, terrified.

"And what places are they?" was Ken's question.

"Iceland, Germany, America, Brazil, Egypt, Russia and Japan," Kudamon replied.

"According to our information, most Knightmons will appear in Brazil and Egypt," the red dinosaur replied, "We will accompany you there and help you. In Japan, only a few will probably show up."

"Where did you get the information from?" the boy asked.

"Through a Knightmon spy who recognized me," said the weasel: "Through him we have the information... but the Homeostasis had already suspected something like this and ordered us to help you so that your digimon could digivolve to their perfect-level."

"So that we can stand up to the mass of Knightmon," concluded Minomon's partner.

"Exactly," Guilmon said.

"But what about Davis and Veemon? The latter can't digivolve to his perfect-level!" said Ken.

"We don't have any information about this... But I would advise them to stay in Japan," Guilmon said.

"Because only a few Knightmons will appear there, will they?" suggested Cody.

Kudamon nodded and looked at the two sleeping partner.

"And how do we get to these places?" asked Ken, "Stingmon and ExVeemon can no longer fuse together..."

"The Homeostasis will take care of it. It will create distortions to the countries," the weasel explained.

"Then let's let the others know," Cody decided, calling Izzy.


	25. Chapter 25 - Courage and Friendship

Chapter 25 – Courage and Friendschip

When Tai, Matt, Agumon and Gabumon arrived in Germany, they were literally lost. The distortion had led them into a forest. Far and wide only trees, trees and again trees. Nowhere could you see a human being. T.K.'s brother sighed heavily about his blond hair. He had no idea where they were. The four had never been to Germany.

"Where are we?" the brown-haired man asked.

"No idea..." replied Agumon.

"How do we know where we are," Matt said.

"And why are we here?" was Gabumon's question.

"Guilmon said that the third highest number of Knightmon will appear here," Tai replied.

"Just wonder where exactly..." said the blond-haired man.

"We don't know..." Kari's brother shrugged.

"Maybe we should try to find some DigiDestined," suggested the yellow dinosaur.

"Good idea," the reptile digimon agreed: "There are certainly a few DigiDestined here. I just hope they can speak our language."

"Don't worry. With English you can also talk", Tai put his hands in his hip.

"That's why Akira and Mimi went to America..." Matt replied.

"Right..." a nervous smile scurried over his lips.

Suddenly something was rumbling between the shrubs. The brown-haired man got a real scare and jumped a few meters back. He bumped into someone. This person spoke something in incomprehensible language before tilting his head slightly. Then he whistled.

From the shrubs a dog that had grown too big emerged. His fur was black-brown, while the feet had a light brown fur up to the knees. The three grey claws dug into the forest floor as the dog watched the digimon. Then it quietly yelled up. There was a grey blade on his heels, but it could not move them. On the thighs was a red-orange eye with a black iris. On the back of the dog was a row of spikes. It wore a grey ring embroidered with spikes on its neck. The jaw and belly of the supposed animal were light brown. His red-orange eyes curiously examined the DigiDestined and their partner, while the short tail wobbled excitedly.

The stranger explained something in a foreign language. The word Dobermon and Digimon was used.

"Err... We DigiDestined are..." Tai tried to say something in English.

Again, the stranger spoke to his digimon and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't understand them.

"Subject, verb, object, Tai," Matt explained: "Not subject, object, verb."

"Ah... right," the brown-haired man said.

"We talk in Japanese can," said the stranger: "Was in Japan a year."

"You can understand us?! That's very good!" smiled Tai: "Who are you?"

"Tim and that's Dobermon here," he pointed to the dog: "He's my partner."

"I'm happy to meet you," Dobermon said fluently.

"Huh? You can speak our language fluently," the blonde-haired man said, somewhat astonished.

"We Digimon imitate the language of humans, so we can actually speak any language," the dog explained: "That's why I'm going to suggest to Tim that I translate for him. So I think it will be faster."

Dobermon explained his proposal to his partner on German before he said something in his native language and then the boy nodded.

"Tim agrees," the dog said.

"Very good," Agumon said.

"Do you know if there are more DigiDestined in Germany?" asked Gabumon Dobermon.

"As far as we know, no," he replied.

"Do you really know what's going on?" was the question of the yellow dinosaur.

"All I know is that someone called the Homeostasis needs our help," the dog took turns looking at Tim and the two strangers.

"The Homeostasis is the god of the digital world," Tai began to explain.

"It's found out that many Knightmon swell around the globe to attack our world on the orders of the god King Drasil," Matt continued.

Dobermon nodded again and translated the words so that his partner could understand.

"We definitely have to stop King Drasil!" exclaimed Agumon.

"Good..." said the dog, "We will help you."

"Me and Agumon are expected to defeat a lot of the Knightmon," Gabumon said.

"Why that?" asked Dobermon.

"We are one of the Royal Knights!" the yellow dinosaur replied: "That's why it's our duty to stop the Knightmon!"

"I see... Tim," the dog said to his partner.

"Ah!" he said after his partner finished the statement: "Royal knights... Ah! Legend of Arthur! Round Table Knights!"

"What is he talking about?" Tai asked his best friend.

"No idea," he replied.

"The Knights of the Round Table and their King Arthur are a legend from England," Dobermon explained: "According to legend, the young Arthur is said to have drawn a sword from the stone and thus became King of England."

"Sounds exciting," Agumon said.

"It is," the dog smiled, "But we can talk about it afterwards."

"Why that, Dobermon?" was Gabumon's question.

"I smell a lot of digimon," he said, "they're on their way here."

"What?!" the brown-haired man said.

"That must be the Knightmon," Matt said.

Dobermon raised his head in the air and sniffed. He could smell good with his nose and was able to estimate the number of attackers.

"Hundred and fifty Knightmon," the dog said, immediately translating it for his partner.

From the face of this the colour gave away and with big eyes he stared at Dobermon. He asked him something before the dog nodded.

"Then let's stop this Knightmon!" exclaimed Agumon: "Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"

The dragon man immediately flew into the air, creating an energy sphere between his claws, which he threw at five Knightmon.

"Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!" the mechanical wolf also rose into the air and fired an icy breath at an attacker from his mouth.

"I can't fly and I'm just an adult-level digimon, but I can defend you here on the ground!" said Dobermon.

As a few Knightmons approached the DigiDestined, the dog sent a roar that paralyzed the enemy before firing a dark ray of energy. Meanwhile, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fought high in the air and helped each other.

"WarGreymon!" shouted the mechanical wolf.

"What is it?" he asked after throwing away a Knightmon with his fist.

"Do you think the Knightmon will do this voluntarily?"

"No. They have to do it."

Both dodged energy.

"Grace Cross Freezer!" sounded MetalGarurumon's voice before firing several rockets at three enemies.

"Dramon Killer!" WarGreymon sharpened his dramon killers and drove a Knightmon over the armour with this one.

The attacker dissolved into data that was carried away by the wind.

"Maybe they will stop when we fuse to Omnimon," the dragon man said.

"It would be worth a try," the mechanical wolf agreed.

"WarGreymon!"

"MetalGarurumon!"

"DNA digitation to..." they both shouted, before uniting into a digimon: "Omnimon!"

Majestic, the white knight extended his arms to the side, while his cape blew behind him.

"Wow..." Tim marvelled: "What a Digimon this is?"

"Omnimon!" Tai replied.

Dobermon saw a Knightmon approaching his partner from behind. Immediately the dog jumped on it and bit him in the neck. The Knightmon was killed by Dobermon's attack, but another appeared and hurled the dog against the tree with an energy shrew.

"Dobermon!" his partner shouted and rushed to him.

"Tim!" Matt sounded alarmed.

The man saw an opponent approaching him and attacking him.

"Nobody threatens Tim!" said Dobermon, growling.

Out of nowhere, a distortion emerged from which another Knightmon appeared. The blonde-haired man was alarmed, because this Knightmon looked a little different from the others and was certainly stronger.

"Don't worry. I'm on your side," Knightmon said.

This Knightmon wore a white cape with the inside red. In his hand he held a great sword, which held it with two hands.

"Wise sword!" the Knightmon shouted, waving his blade and creating a blue wave of energy: "On my honour, I will protect you humans."

"Thank you," Tai said, "But why are you helping us?"

"I help you because it was ordered by Sir Gallantmon and Sir Sleipmon," he said: "My name is Knightmon Wise Sword Mode. But I just prefer WiseKnightmon."

"Okay..."

WiseKnightmon briefly took off before flying into the air and then skewering a Knightmon with his sword, which was about to attack Omnimon in the back.

"Sir Omnimon. Sir Gallantmon and Sir Sleipmon send me. I will guarantee you my support in this fight," WiseKnightmon said.

"Thank you," said the fused Digimon.

"Another thing, Sir Omnimon."

"Yes?" he just sent an energy wave to five Knightmons.

"All but two Royal Knights have appeared," WiseKnightmon blocked an enemy's attack and kicked him in the stomach almost at the same moment.

"Good to know," he nodded to him, pointing his Garuru cannon at another opponent.

Then he fired a beam of energy at it.

"Soon all the Royal Knights will awaken."

"Probably... However, we will fight against each other again..." he quietly uttered a single name full of wistfulness: "Alphamon..."

Omnimon pointed his sword toward the sky and gathered energy in it. He then let go of the accumulated mass of energy on ten Knightmons.

"Omega Blast!" he shouted, before the Knightmons went down in a blaze: "Knightmon Wise Sword Mode. I can cope well on my own. Please protect Tai, Matt and Tim."

"Are you sure, Sir Omnimon?"

"Yes. I wouldn't forgive if Tai and Matt were hurt."

"Understood!" said WiseKnightmon, before landing on the ground and defeating other Knightmons.

Meanwhile, Omnimon closed his eyes and stretched out his arms diagonally sideways. The weapons appeared from both the Grey head and the Garuru head. Energy accumulated in both weapons before the merged Digimon reopened his eyes.

"Grey Sword, Garuru Cannon!" he fired his two most powerful attacks on the enemy at the same time.

Just over half of the existing Knightmons were defeated by the attack. The other half was able to get to safety just in time. Suddenly Omnimon felt a strange feeling. As if someone were breaking the barrier between this and the digital world. A purple light appeared before the room in the sky appeared to break to clear the way for a single Digimon with incredible powers. A red jewel shimmered in the sun before the Digimon looked at the white knight. It was Alphamon who personally interfered in this fight. With a hand gesture, he told the rest of the Knightmons to withdraw. Several distortions appeared so that the attackers could withdraw.

"Alphamon!" Omnimon raved angrily: "Immediately order the stop of the attack on this world!"

"Why should I do this, Omnimon?" he asked, before laughing.

The blue eyes of the fused Digimon reflected sadness. His old friend Alphamon could not be saved. He always knew. Suddenly, he remembered Jesmon. He had been a good friend of the black knight... But a short time ago Alphamon had killed him.

"Alphamon... Why did you kill Jesmon? He was one of your best friends," Omnimon said.

"Friends... Why do you need them?" was his question.

"What?! Friends are needed because-"

"Because what? I don't need friends. What I want is for King Drasil to get his will."

"Alphamon! You were always the one who had opposed King Drasil! What changed you so much?!"

Suddenly, it came back to the fused Digimon. Piedmons Ball... Through Piedmon's ball, he had slowly but steadily changed.

"By Piedmon... More specifically, through the small, black ball," Omnimon quipped.

"Not bad," the black knight mocked: "But this is your end... No. Not just yours. Also that of your friends and their partner. I and my subordinates will defeat each one of you. Argh!"

He grabbed his head and bent over in pain.

"Alphamon?" asked Omnimon uncertainly: "What's going on?"

The said Digimon clenched his hands to fists.

"Omni... mon... Please... Kill-," he began, but had to scream in pain again.

"What?" he looked at him confused: "What's going on?"

Had Omnimon imagined it or did Alphamon want him to kill him? Before he could ask further, however, a distortion appeared behind the black digimon, into which he entered. So Alphamon disappeared again and left the merged Digimon alone with questions.

/Something is going on with him... but what?/, he asked himself.

Then he landed on the ground.

"Something doesn't seem to be right with Alphamon," Matt said.

"That's also true... I think for a moment he wanted me to kill him," Omnimon said.

Dobermon began to translate everything for Tim. He hardly understood anything of what was said in terms of content, so he had to look at the other two DigiDestined inquiringly. Tai immediately understood and told the dog that they couldn't tell her anything else for their safety. Although Tim was keenly interested, he didn't want to go any further into danger. The German Digiritter and his partner finally said goodbye to the two new DigiDestined.

"Sayonara!" Tim shouted to say goodbye, waving to Tai, Matt, Omnimon and WiseKnightmon before riding on Dobermon's back.

When both disappeared, the brown-haired man turned to the allied Knightmon.

"WiseKnightmon... Could you please go to Tokyo. There are two DigiDestined who need help," Tai asked him.

"Understood... But why exactly do they need my help?"

"Because in defence of the city there is only one perfect-level digimon and one adult-level digimon," explained the blonde-haired.

"Okay. Then I'll go there," WiseKnightmon said, before a distortion appeared: "I hope I'll see you again."

With this, the allied Knightmon also disappeared. Tai and Matt looked at each other tacitly before looking up to Omnimon. He sighed heavily and sank into thought. He knew that Gallantmon was working with the Homeostasis and Hackmon became Meiko's partner, as did Dynasmon. He became Akira's partner.

As for Duftmon, he guarded Primary Village. But what about the others? Sleipmon, UlforceVeedramon, Gankoomon, Crusadermon, Craniamon, Examon and... And who else? Who else had been a Royal Knight? He could not remember this knight. He did not know the name or appearance of the last digimon. Again, Omnimon sighed.

"Are you alright, Omnimon?" Tai asked, somewhat anxiously: "You sigh quite often..."

"It's nothing, Tai," the fused Digimon replied.

"Is it because of Alphamon?" was Matt's question.

"Not only", the white knight looked to the side and then to the sky, before looking back at his partners: "I remember more and more who I used to be..."

"And who were you? I mean a part of you had told me that you were once a member of the protectors of the digital world," the blonde-haired man said.

"A Royal Knight," Kari's brother added, "And you fell into an argument..."

"Exactly," Omnimon nodded: "We, so me and Alphamon, were arguing with each other who was the better leader. Alphamon followed King Drasil unconditionally, even though he was actually the one to stop him."

"Right... Guilmon had said something like that once... I remember," said T.K.'s brother: "Alphamon, who was supposed to stop King Drasil, fell into the darkness... by Piedmon's bullet."

"Alphamon was able to suppress the influence of the sphere for years. But after we defeated MaloMyotismon, the influence became too great and Alphamon began to work with King Drasil again, even though he had seen the extent of this allegiance."

"Extent?" repeated Tai.

"King Drasil had once ordered to kill all Digimon... Alphamon was able to stop him at the time," the fused Digimon explained before falling to his knees.

"Omnimon!" shouted Matt.

"I am fine, Matt. I'm just exhausted... Immediately I will-" he did not come further, because Omnimon de-fused to Agumon and Gabumon, who stood exhausted but not unconscious, with firm feet on the ground.

"I'm hungry Tai..." groaned the yellow dinosaur.

"Yes, yes..." his partner smiled: "But I don't have anything to eat."

"Do you think it's easy to keep Omnimon, Tai?" asked Gabumon, irritated.

"Of course we don't believe that..." Matt defended his friend: "And we understand that you are tired and exhausted now, as long as you have kept Omnimon longer this time."

The blonde-haired man smiled at the two Digimons and knelt down to his partner.

"Your nose is good, Gabumon... Maybe you can find us a little bit to eat," Matt suggested.

"Or we should have just asked Tim and Dobermon if they had something to eat..." the brown-haired man replied, entangled his arms in front of his chest.

There was a crushing silence. Why didn't they ask Tim and Dobermon?

"You know Gabumon..." Agumon began.

"Yes?" said Digimon, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"A Digimon that we knew would probably write a poem..."

"Yes," said the reptile digimon.

"Who?" asked Tai, "Do we know said Digimon?"

"No, you don't know," replied the yellow dinosaur: "The digimon is called Crusadermon."

"Crusadermon...," Matt said.

"Yes... She was the Lord of the Knightmon," Gabumon said.

"Sometimes she was called LordKnightmon," Agumon replied, taking a short break before sighing: "Crusadermon was a good friend of Dynasmon, by the way."

"Was?" the brown-haired man repeated: "What happened to Crusadermon?"

"She was killed by a digimon," the reptile digimon said.

"She should have been reborn now. However, it will be on Yggdrasil's side..." the yellow dinosaur concluded.

"And if she meets Dynasmon, who has taken on Yggdrasil, what will happen?" asked T.K.'s brother.

"They will fight with each other until one of them is no longer alive or one of them will join the opposing side... The former would be more likely," Agumon sighed.

"Why?" was Tai's counter-question.

"Because Dynasmon is very loyal to Akira," Gabumon said, "he wouldn't betray her."

Matt's partner did not want to imagine what would happen in a confrontation between the two Royal Knights. Dynasmon himself would probably surrender and be killed. It will definitely be hard for him to compete against an old friend.

Gabumon shook briefly. He only hoped that Akira and Crusadermon would never meet. The latter would then be very angry with her former boyfriend's partner and would try to attack her... Or? He wasn't so sure.

"It is inevitable that the two will fight against each other... I think this Crusadermon was very much attached to Dynasmon, right?" said Kari's brother, tilting his head slightly to the side.

He didn't need an answer. He already knew it. The whole conversation was interrupted by a crushing silence. Agumon looked at Tai and then at Gabumon, who shrugged. The reptile digimon then growled quietly before looking at Matt. He folded his arms in front of his chest and thought something. His thoughts revolved mainly around the crisis caused by Yggdrasil and his Royal Knights. But also because of his studies in space travel in America. Now that he was thinking of America. How Akira, Wanyamon, Mimi and Palmon beat each other there. The former American Digiritter once lived in the United States. So it was a good idea to let them travel there via distortion. Meanwhile, Gabumon recalled something from a long time ago.

* * *

Rhythmic-sounding footsteps echoed in the digital space. Omnimon walked through the area at a rather leisurely pace, which consisted only of lines and ones and zeros. His sapphire-blue eyes saw Jesmon and his master Gankoomon in the distance. The latter had his arms crossed in front of his chest and argued loudly with his student, who had just reached the ultimate-level.

"Really..." the man moaned angrily: "You're way too naive."

"Stop saying this all the time, sensei!" Jesmon exclaimed angrily: "I know I'm naive. Nevertheless, I will stand up to him!"

"You idiot!" Gankoomon shouted, giving the dragon man a head nut: "It's a command from Alphamon!"

"And?! If we attack any Digimon for no reason, it will come back to us! That's what Sir Omnimon said!"

"You don't need to talk him with Sir anymore, Jesmon. You are now a Royal Knight."

"I know. But nevertheless I have a lot of respect for Sir Omnimon."

"But still, you should follow Alphamon's commands."

"Why are you arguing?" asked Omnimon.

The fused knight approached and inspected the two ultimate-digimon. Jesmon nodded briefly to him before looking at his master. The man himself gritted his teeth. He himself did not want Omnimon to drill. Gankoomon always followed the orders of Alphamon, not Omnimon's. However, doubts slowly gnawed in him. Because Alphamon's commands became more and more extreme.

"Sir Alphamon asked me and Sir Examon to sink File Island into the sea," the dragon man explained.

"Don't obey the command," the fused Digimon decided, "not only because it is home to Ornithmon, but also because it is home to Primary Village."

"Alphamon himself said that this was an order from King Drasil," Gankoomon said.

"Nonsense!" Omnimon told them: "Never would Alphamon give such orders!"

"Look at it, Omnimon," said a fourth voice.

Examon emerged from a dark corner of the dark room. He had bitten his teeth on top of each other and growled a little.

"Sir Examon... What do you mean by that?" asked Jesmon.

"Alphamon is increasingly following King Drasil's commands. He is supposed to be the one who stopped him and controlled us..." the red-scaly dragon growled.

"But he is increasingly negatively influenced by King Drasil..." said a fifth voice.

This belonged to Sleipmon. She herself trotted to her comrades and looked at the man with indistinct eyes.

"Do you want to help Alphamon execute these commands, Gankoomon?" she asked softly.

"No," he replied, "I see for myself how extreme the orders are..."

"Too extreme," a sixth voice agreed.

"Gallantmon!" said Omnimon, astonished: "I thought you were on the continent Server."

"I was," he said.

Through his voice you could see that he wasn't in a good mood.

"The village I was supposed to destroy... Its inhabitants were in-training-level digimon," Gallantmon said.

"That goes too far now!" Sleipmon exclaimed angrily: "I will no longer obey King Drasil's orders."

"I won't either!" growled Examon, hitting his long tail on the ground in anger.

"Calm down you two. Act before you think," Jesmon tried to reassure her.

"Other way around, Jesmon," Gankoomon corrected him: "Think before you act."

"If we start thinking, we will not act," the white knight with the red cape declared.

"Normally I think about... But this time I'm acting first!" said Omnimon: "I'm going to talk to Alphamon about it... If he continues to obey King Drasil's orders, I will kill him."

"Isn't that a little too extreme?" the dragon man asked uncertainly.

"It's too extreme," the six-footed horse replied, scurrying to the ground with her right front hoove.

"He's our comrade, Omnimon," Gallantmon quipped.

"That's why I have to stop him," the fused knight raved, leaving his comrades without another word to lose.

His mind was racing. He himself was not ready for such measures, because he was good friends with Alphamon. And this would be his fate if he did not give everything and saw beyond his friendship with him. Omnimon stopped and sighed heavily. He didn't like how things were going. But did he have another choice? After all, he was the deputy leader of the Royal Knights and the right hand of the black knight. Alphamon moved into the field of view of the merged knight. He himself was talking to Craniamon, who left a short time later. The purple knight walked past Omnimon and cast an angry glance at him. When Craniamon disappeared from the sight of both Royal Knights, the black knight looked at his right hand.

"So you want me to stop obeying King Drasil's orders?" he asked.

"Craniamon listened to us, didn't he?" it sounded more like a guess than a question.

"Yes, he has. I am not going to oppose the orders of our Lord, Omnimon. You have to understand that the Homeostasis-"

"The Homeostasis only wants harmony!" the fused knight interrupted him: "It is a program created by King Drasil..."

"I'm aware of that, Omnimon. However, the Homeostasis is controlled by someone. We don't know who yet."

"The Homeostasis and controlled?! The only one who has contact with the Homeostasis is Jesmon, as he was created by it and acts as its messenger! He must have noticed if the Homeostasis was controlled by someone."

"Must?! But he doesn't have!"

"Because it's not true at all! Jesmon may still be young and naive, but he has good judgment and can assess the Homeostasis better than he does with King Drasil."

"Then you're blind, Omnimon."

"I'm not, Alphamon! You are blind, Alphamon! You are the one who should stop our Lord! That's your duty!" he waved his left arm to the side as he put his one foot forward, taking a slightly bent posture.

The black knight placed a hand on the shoulder of his right hand and then pressed it lightly. Finally, he said:

"Omnimon... You are my closest friend. If you betray me, I will never forgive you, even if you are reborn."

With that, he let go of his shoulder and began to move. Omnimon stood down normally and gritted his teeth. When he could no longer hear his friend, he spoke softly:

"Alphamon... Why? Why did you just change so much? Do you trust King Drasil so much? Do you trust him so much that you no longer doubt him?"


	26. Chapter 26 - Pride

Chapter 26 – Pride

How long ago Akira had been in America. She loved this country. Freedom, the air, landscape and much more. The young woman especially liked the food. It was ironic that Knightmon also appeared in America. She was pleased that they (along with Mimi and Palmon) and Wanyamon were allowed to travel to the United States. Akira really wanted to eat a burger in America. She also believed that her partner would like such a burger.

When the four finally arrived in New York, the young woman could hardly hide her joy. She wanted to do everything possible. Eat a burger, go shopping, and sunbathe in a park. Just doing what she could do only marginally or not at all in Japan.

Akira remembered the day Shin said he had to go back to Japan, to Tokyo, because of his work. The young woman had been very happy that day, because she had experienced something beautiful with Jack. For her, a world collapsed. How could Shin destroy her happy life?

That's what she thought at the time. She had strongly reproached Sera's friend for this. That's why their relationship was aggressive until she met Wanyamon. After that, the relationship improved. First she ignored him as best she could, then she started talking to him briefly. And before she saw it, she treated him like a big brother.

"So this is America," the in-training digimon simply said, "looks exactly like Tokyo."

"But it's not. We are in New York! There are a lot of things here that don't exist in Tokyo," she said, smiling, walking a few steps away from the three of them, before turning in a circle with outstretched arms and laughing happily.

Mimi looked at her a little bit surprised. Akira was always so cold-hearted and aggressive towards her. But Wanyamon also noticed his partner's cheerful mood.

"I want to eat a burger!" she suddenly shouted.

"What's a burger?" her partner asked.

"You'll see," she laughed, turning in circles again.

"Why are you so happy?"

"I like New York!"

"And why?"

"I once lived here. I have so many fond memories here!"

"I see…"

"Hey. Don't be so depressed!"

"It's just that a horde of Knightmon, who serve King Drasil, will appear," he raved.

"And you're good at killing the mood," she said, but didn't sound very angry.

"I agree with you," Said Mimi: "You, Wanyamon, **_are_** killing the mood. Correction. You conjure up rain clouds through your mood."

Palmon's partner pointed her second finger into the sky. There were no clouds wide and wide. Just a bright blue sky with a sun.

"Should this be a metaphor?" the in-training digimon asked.

As if Mimi had solidified to stone, she did not move for several seconds.

"Is she frozen to stone now?" said Akira.

Palmon's partner briefly shook her head before she began to smile broadly.

"She went mad," Wanyamon said.

The four continued to talk without knowing that anyone was watching them. This one was a perfect-level digimon standing on a roof with his arms crossed.

The purple eyes watched with suspicion the Digiritter and their partners. With his feet shaped into silver blades, he held onto the thin metal tube. The Digimon wore red trousers with a grey symbol on it. This symbol had two rings and a diamond in the middle of it. The trousers themselves were held by a green belt knotted to the left side. The belly above was wrapped in a white fabric while wearing a black jacket with a yellow collar on his chest.  
His slender arms were wrapped up far above his wrists in a thin purple fabric. The silver-sounding fingers were very pointed. This digimon had four devil wings. The upper pair was red, the lower yellow. The neck and lower part of the head had a white color, while the upper part of the head was embroidered with yellow hair. In general, this digimon looked like a matador from Spain. The Digimon itself was a good 1.80 centimetres tall.

"Akira," whispered Wanyamon, who was carried by his partner.

"Yes?" she bent down slightly.

"We are being watched by a digimon."

"Really?" she wanted to look around.

"Don't look around. I have a bad feeling."

The matador jumped from the roof and attacked the four.

"Thousand Arrow!" he summoned several purple arrows at the group from his right sleeves.

"Palmon!" Mimi shouted in panic.

"Palmon warp-digivolve to... Rosemon!" she jumped into the air, holding her hands in front of the rose by her chest, before turning in a circle and saying, "Forbidden Temptation!"

A swarm of rose petals raced to the attacker. He was thrown against a house wall. The matador growled furiously and eventually jumped to Rosemon. He used the wall as a temporary springboard.

"Matadormon, stop!" a voice shouted.

Akira shuddered. This voice... she knew it. The said Digimon made a back-flip in the air and landed on the ground before joining a young man. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt with a white circle, which was also black in the middle. The young man looked at the two DigiDestined and shrugged.

"Akira!" he said, terrified: "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing you'd care about, Jack," she replied grumpily.

"Hey. You're still so grumpy," he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Just shut up," she raved, grabbing Wanyamon's body tighter.

"Akira!" he cried, biting her hand.

"Ow! Wanyamon!" she said annoyed to her partner.

He growled and freed himself from her arms.

"You're also a DigiDestined?" asked Jack, astonished.

"Also?" she repeated: "That means... you're also one."

"Yes. This is my partner, Matadormon. He appeared in New York just over a year ago and couldn't go back to the digital world. I found him and took him home. Soon I got my Digivice."

"Um... If I am allowed to interfere," Mimi said, "You know Akira?"

"She's my ex girlfriend. We broke up," the young man said.

With his flat hand, Akira hit him on the back.

"Ow!" exclaimed Jack.

"You were the one who broke up with me!" she raved.

"But you don't have to hit my back."

"You wrote that you have a new girlfriend!"

"That was a lie. I didn't want you to see Matadormon."

"You... IDIOT!," she yelled at him: "I hate you. Hate you, hate you, HATE YOU!"

Again and again she screamed at him in a rage. Jack replied quietly, so that only his partner heard it:

"I know..."

He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Wanyamon looked at his partner, who was still insulting her ex. Until she finally stopped. She was breathing heavily and her head was more than red. Akira turned around and was going to move away from her ex and Mimi. But her partner cried out:

"Akira! Stop! We need to destroy those Knightmon!"

Jack looked at him confused. What was he talking about? But before he could asked the in-training digimon Akira ran away.

"Akira!" Jack called after her but she ignored him.

Behind Wanyamon a distortion appeared. He looked between Akira's ex, Mimi and Palmon before he jumped into said portal. Meanwhile the other young woman was shocked. Akira never told anyone that she had a boyfriend. Then again, she was literally a closed book and never told anyone about her past in America. However, Mimi could understand her. Her ex lied to her and broke up with her. In Akira's place Mimi would also be very angry at the man.

"I told you, it was a bad idea not telling her." Matadormon said coldly.

"I know!" Jack snapped at him: "But how could I explain it to her? Suddenly I have a friend that is a Digimon. She knew that a giant Digimon attacked Tokyo. How would that sound that a friend of mine is now a Digimon?"

"Well… You could have explained her that you-" began his partner but was stopped as a loud explosion appeared.

"What was that?" asked Mimi in panic.

* * *

Shortly before said explosion happened Akira sat on a bench and stared into the distance. She hated her ex more than anything. Why did he do that to her? Why did he hide his partner? Did he think that she couldn't take it? If that was the case then he had no trust in her. At least Matadormon looked more like a human than a monster… Sighing heavily she closed her eyes. Tears started to form in her eyes. She just hoped that no one saw her.

"Akira?" she heard a familiar voice.

Opening her eyes she looked directly at her partner who sat in front of her on the ground. He looked concerned. Something she never thought he would do. But soon her mood changed into anger. Why did he follow her? She wanted to be alone.

"What do you want?" she asked him annoyed.

"I…" he turned away embarrassed.

He so hated it to admit something.

"I was concerned about you." he finally said after a pause.

"Leave me alone, Wanyamon!" she yelled angrily: "I don't want to see you ever again! If I hadn't become a DigiDestined I wouldn't be here!"

Wanyamon growled lowly in his throat. Signalling her that he started to get angry at her as well. Well… She didn't care. She just wanted to go home and forget all of this. Her partner somehow sensed what she was thinking and growled even louder. Meanwhile Akira herself prepared right away. He would bite her for her insult.

But he didn't. Instead, he hopped onto her lap and looked at her.

"Akira..." Wanyamon said with a somewhat sudden tone.

"What?"

His eyes looked really serious right now. He took a deep breath. Then:  
"I care about you. You are my best friend. And… I need you…" he murmured while her eyes widened.

Never had she heard something like that from him. And it surprised her more than she would have suspected. He cared about her. She was his best friend. And she needed her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because… I don't want to lose another friend."

"Another friend?" she repeated.

"Yes. I remember everything now. I remember what really happened then and who my best friend was."

"Then let's hear," she smiled, brushing his fur.

"At that time we were arguing so much that a Digimon attacked us..." he took a short break.

"Who was this digimon?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"I thought you can remember everything."

"But... This digimon killed them. This Digimon killed my best friend Crusadermon. When she was killed, I became so furious with anger that I attacked this digimon without thinking. It caused me a serious injury, so I had to rest for 10,000 years after the fight."

"And this Crusadermon..."

"Works now for King Drasil."

"What will happen when you meet her?" she tilted her head slightly to the right and looked at him inquiringly.

"I... don't know. I don't know how to react. On the one hand, I don't want to fight her because she's an old friend... On the other hand, it cooperates with the enemy. What I hope is that I will never meet them again. I really hope so."

"Because you're in discord, wouldn't you?" Akira suspected.

"Exactly," he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Wanyamon..."

The in-training digimon reopened his eyelids, shook briefly and looked into the distance. Suddenly an explosion appeared causing them to jump.

"What's going on?" she asked after she collected herself.

"Probably the Knightmon." he hissed through clenched teeth.

He enveloped himself in a light and hopped from her lap. Afterwards he yelled:

"Wanyamon warp-digivolve to… Dynasmon!"

Dynasmon flapped his wings and growled angrily. He sensed another Royal Knight here. He just hoped that he/she wasn't his lost friend.

"One of the Royal Knights has appeared here. Rosemon and Matadormon have no chance against this one," he explained: "I have to stop him or her!"

"I'll come with you!" she said euphorically.

The ultimate-level digimon shook his head and took off leaving his partner behind. Akira's partner digimon flapped vigorously with his wings and raced to the enemy Royal Knight. The ultimate-level Digimon growled in flight because he had lied to his partner. He felt no Royal Knights nearby. Nevertheless, he wanted to help Rosemon and Matadormon in the fight against them. When a Knightmon stood in his way, Dynasmon pulled out and dismembered him with his left claw. Half snarling, he fired a laser and hit another Knightmon, which dissolved into data. Behind him, an opponent approached, but he could not react so quickly.

"Forbidden Temptation!" a voice shouted, letting loose a wave of roses on the Knight's Digimon.

The Knightmon was hurled against a lamppost and eventually retreated into a distortion.

"Thousand Arrow!", Matadormon fired several purple arrows at one of the attackers.

However, he dodged and wanted to destroy the matador with his sword. But Wanyamon's ultimate-level was a little faster and blocked the attack with his arm guards. The Knightmon flew several meters away, much to Dynasmon's astonishment. Suddenly he saw a pink flash, which hit him in the stomach the next moment.

The eyes of the ultimate-level Digimon widened in terror before he was thrown to the ground a short time later by the force of the attack. He landed his back and would only be able to get up after a good ten seconds. However, the pink lightning bolt rushed to him and wanted to kill him with a drawn sword. But the lightning paused when the Digimon saw Dynasmon.

"You... you are..." he did not produce another word.

In front of him stood Crusadermon, whom he had not hoped he would see. His body trembled. He didn't want it. He didn't want to fight her.

"Why are you destroying your allies?" she asked.

"Allies...? No. I..." he still lacked the words.

"Please don't tell me that you, of all Digimon, have sided with humans," she quipped.

Her voice sounded as if she was having trouble suppressing her anger.

"Crusadermon..." he still saw the yellow sword made of a ribbon in front of him: "I chose this site because humans are not as bad as you think?!"

"Humans," she uttered the word with contempt: "Have you forgotten that humans invented this Gizmon?!"

"It was just a part of the people! Not even one percent!"

"That's enough!"

"Don't do it, Crusadermon! Look at me! I know good people!"

"Then you're blind!"

"I'm not blind! You only see what you want to see! You're like Alphamon!"

"What do you know about us!" she yelled at him.

She got out and wanted to kill him. But she struggled with herself. She couldn't kill him, couldn't she? Dynasmon pushed her away with his left foot and jumped up.

"Crusadermon. I don't want to fight you," he said after the pink knight also rose.

"Then that's your bad luck. I will kill you for your betrayal!"

"Is there no other way? Do we have to fight?" he looked at her with sad eyes.

"There is no other way!"

She rushed towards him and hit him to the ground again with her shield. He couldn't do it. He didn't want to fight and hurt her. He would rather die than fight against her. No one would take him away from his decision. He didn't want to hurt her. So he closed his eyes and waited for the death blow.

"Dynasmon!" shouted one voice.

"What?" in shock at the voice, Crusadermon turned around and saw a man with a ponytail and brown hair.

Akira stood in front of Dynasmon and looked resolutely high at her opponent.

"What are you doing?" his partner asked him: "It looked like you wanted to be killed! Where is your will to fight?!"

The ultimate-level Digimon slowly straightened up and looked at Akira.

"I..." he began to speak.

"Come on!" she interrupted him: "Pull yourself together! I don't know what Digimon that is... But if you die now, you won't be able to protect anything, Dynasmon! Pull yourself together and fight!"

"She's Crusadermon..." he explained, sighing.

His partner was briefly terrified and looked at him. But then she smiled at him and nodded.

"If you don't want that, then it's okay. But remember. If you don't stop her, who does it? You are equal to her. If you give up, who will protect New York?" her words were unusually gentle and encouraging.

Her partner closed her eyes briefly and breathed a deep breath. When his lids reopened, they showed determination.

"Thank you, Akira!" he said, once flapping with his purple wings.

"You really are a traitor, Dynasmon," Crusadermon said, "Then I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That I'm going to kill you here and now!"

She rushed to Dynasmon, but he intercepted her shield with his arm guards. He wanted to meet her with the other claw. Elegantly, she jumped over his head to land behind him so she could easily attack him. But she didn't expect her opponent to turn around and throw her in the air with his left claw. Immediately Dynasmon followed her, grabbed her and flew high into the air. When they were just under the clouds, the pink knight freed herself and rammed her sword into his arm. He flew away from her with a sound of pain. The next moment he fired a green laser at her. The pink knight rushed to the side and took one end of her ribbon in her hand.

"Spiral Masquerade!" she added to him with several cuts.

Wanyamon's ultimate-level knew exactly when he could grab her. After inflicting the fifth injury on him, he grabbed her and raced towards the ground in a dive. She couldn't get her arms out of the grip, so she hit her back on the ground. A gigantic crater formed beneath it. At the same time, some boulders swirled. One of them hit Akira at the temple, causing her to lose consciousness. Dynasmon, however, did not notice. He was too deep in the fight.

"Listen to me, Crusadermon," he growled: "Humans aren't just evil. There are kind-hearted humans like Akira."

"Akira... So that's the name of her. She changed you a lot," she hissed: "For the worse, well-noticed."

"She changed me for the good."

"Whatever." she would have shrugged, but her opponent still held her arms with his claw.

"Don't be so ignorant, Crusadermon! You should live with a kind person for at least one day. Then you would realize that humans also have good sides."

"Which one?" she asked, laughing dryly: "What good sides? Humans are greedy, selfish, power-hungry and stupid. Why should humans have "good" sides?"

"Because," he interrupted himself as he had to scream.

She had managed to stab him in the palm of his hand with her band. Inevitably, he had let her go and jumped away a bit. The pink knight jumped up and rammed her shield into him, hurling him against a house wall. His head buckled forward, so she believed he was unconscious. With a sure-fire nod, she turned away from him and saw the unconscious Akira.

If she hadn't worn a helmet, you could have seen a vicious smile. That was a good idea. Crusadermon wrapped a ribbon around the body of Dynasmon's partner and lifted it up. She noticed that her opponent had risen again and placed Akira in front of her. This stopped Dynasmon.

"You!" he growled angrily: "Let her go immediately!"

"Why?" she asked him.

"Crusadermon! I... please."

"So that's how much does this person mean to you? What does she have that I don't have?"

"That's not what it's about! Release them!"

"And what if not? She is my hostage. If you want to attack me, I will use her as a shield."

Wanyamon's ultimate-level growled in frustration and rage.

"You don't want to kill me... So you don't have the will to fight me," she said, before attacking him again with her shield.

He coughed and got down on his knees. Meanwhile, she rose in the air and flew away. Dynasmon struck vigorously with his purple wings and followed her.

"Akira!" he shouted after his partner: "Damn it, Crusadermon! Let her go!"

However, the pink knight ignored him and flew through a cloud.

"AKIRA!" he shouted.

In the cloud, Crusadermon created a distortion and landed in the digital world before setting off to King Drasil. Akira's partner cried out loud after he couldn't find the pink knight. Eventually, he landed on the ground. Exhausted by the struggle and the kidnapping of his partner.

"Akira..." he spoke softly before returning to his in-training level.

Mimi and Rosemon approached him and saw tears in his eyes.

"What... has happened?" the rose woman asked uncertainly.

"Akira was... She was kidnapped by Crusadermon..." he breathed and closed his lids, before screaming again.

"What?" a voice said, terrified.

"Jack..." said Mimi, looking at him.

"Akira became..." his eyes widened: "I will help you. I will save Akira!"

"No..." Wanyamon's voice rang out: "You're not supposed to do anything. You will not get involved in this fight any further. It is a battle between two gods... Therefore. Don't get in."

"But-" Jack began.

"Didn't you listen to me, human?! You shall keep yourself out of the matter for your own security!"

"Hey. Don't be so harsh to him, Wanyamon," Rosemon rebuked him.

"Shut up!" the in-training digimon yelled at her: "Just keep your mouth shut!"

"Hey! Nobody talks to my partner like that!" exclaimed Mimi, trying to grab Wanyamon by the tail.

He dodged to the side and growled menacingly.

"Please calm everyone down," Matadormon said: "It is no use to anyone to argue now. Wanyamon, right? You may know where this Crusadermon had taken Akira."

"No..." he shook himself: "But I will save her! And if I put my life at risk! I will save Akira!"

* * *

**Author's note:** This chapter was changed a little bit. In the original Akira lost her consciousness after the argument with Jack. In this she just ran away.


	27. Chapter 27 - Imprisoned Fight in Tokyo

Chapter 27 Imprisoned / Fight in Tokyo

An almost transparent bubble hovered over the bottom of the digital space. Crusadermon herself looked up at the person in the bubble. Akira herself was still lying unconscious and her legs bent to her chest. Apart from her chest, nothing moved with her. The pink knight noticed another Digimon stepping towards her. It was Craniamon who looked up to the unconscious human with his red piercing eyes before looking at Crusadermon.

"What's going to happen?" he asked, "You've kidnapped a human and you bring it here?! What's gone into you, Crusadermon?!"

"This human, Akira her name, means Dynasmon a lot... I'm going to use her for my advantage and force Dynasmon to surrender and work with us," she said, laughing cheerfully.

"Didn't Alphamon kidnapped Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken? Do you really think this would work?"

"First. This time it is only one person. And secondly. This human means Dynasmon a lot."

"Yes, yes... And what about the partner of the kidnapped DigiDestined?"

"They were infected by Alphamon with Meicoomon's virus and controlled by him, forgotten?"

"I don't have. Except that Imperialdramon was quite weak," he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Well..." she shrugged her shoulders indifferently: "Who would have thought then that the partner of the other DigiDestined would digivolve to their ultimate-level..."

"Alphamon had also controlled Armadillomon and Hawkmon..."

"Had also failed terribly... Armadillomon, I mean MetalSeadramon, was defeated by WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. Hawkmon and Machinedramon were defeated by Phoenixmon, Seraphimon and HerculesKabuterimon..."

"Alphamon should not have taken Digimon that can or may not digivolve to their ultimate-level only through a fusion. That's why Gabumon, for example, could do MetalSeadramon damage even though he was a rookie-level digimon."

"Those who are too weak are defeated. Correction. If you don't have a good defence, you're defeated. But do you really think that Alphamon or King Drasil will be satisfied because you brought a human here?" Craniamon looked up briefly to Akira.

"This person is unconscious..."

"If you say so. But you certainly don't want to get the wrath of Alphamon or King Drasil, do you?"

"Are you worried about me, Craniamon?" she sounded a little mocking.

"I'm just worried that if we carry on like this, our comrades will lose..."

"Speaking of comrades. Something doesn't seem to be right with Alphamon... You noticed that, didn't you?"

"True... But why?"

"Don't be silly," UlforceVeedramon's voice sounded: "With Alphamon, everything is fine. He behaves as always."

"He does not," said the purple knight: "Didn't you notice? He gets too aggressive and gets headaches all the time."

"Don't worry, Craniamon... UlforceVeedramon has long said goodbye to reality," the pink knight looked at Craniamon and then sighed.

"What does that mean?" the blue knight hissed.

"That you, dear Ulforci, are escaping reality," the purple knight explained.

"I'm going to destroy these DigiDestined!" quipped UlforceVeedramon, looking at the trapped human: "And who is that?"

"This is Dynasmon's partner... Akira, was her name, am I right?" said Craniamon.

"Akira, is her name," Crusadermon said, "I will use her to get Dynasmon back on our side."

"And if he refuses?" was the blue knight's question.

"Then I will threaten him that I will kill Akira," she laughed darkly.

"This is a good plan... Dynasmon will have no choice," UlforceVeedramon agreed.

The purple and blue knight left the digital space. The rose knight looked up again to Akira. Her face began to shrug slightly before she opened her eyes and looked around the room unsafely. Eventually, her gaze fell on Crusadermon. Her facial expression immediately became angry.

"Where am I?! What did you do with Dynasmon?!" she demanded.

"I didn't think you would wake up so soon... Akira," said the pink knight, flying high to the bubble.

"Where am I?!"

"You may have a harsh tone... Where are you? I can't tell you that. But." she paused.

"But?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes.

"But you're my captive," she laughed, flying behind the bubble.

Akira turned around and gritted her teeth.

"Let me out!" she raved.

"Hm..." the pink knight pretended to think: "No."

"You!"

"Come on," she shrugged: "My goal is to draw your partner Dynasmon to our side."

"And you think he would?! Dynasmon will never do anything that goes against my will!"

"Do you think?" Crusadermon looked at her left hand and stretched it out: "Do you think Dynasmon would obey your "commands"? I don't think so. Because if he likes someone very much, then he sets the safety of the one very high. He would do anything for you to keep you safe. That is what it looks like. And I can also say that I will threaten you so that he will join us again... Unlike Omnimon, Jesmon, Gallantmon and Sleipmon, he is easy to influence."

"Dynasmon won't be influenced so easily! He's a big head!"

"And he always cares about his friends," she added.

"That..." she lowered her head down.

"You know... human. I could very slowly turn my neck... So that you die agonizingly and slowly."

Akira's eyes widened with fear and she had to swallow heavily. Crusadermon rejoiced at her expression and chuckled.

"But," she said, "I won't kill you until Dynasmon is back on our side... and until then... can you still enjoy your short life."

The pink knight laughed quietly and ominously and flew to the ground. She took a quick look over her shoulder, where she saw her captive sitting in the bubble with her legs tightened. She left her alone with a shrug of the shoulders.

* * *

In Tokyo, four people stood at the port and looked out at the sea. The ocean gently hit the shore and produced a quiet noise. If the humans had not known better, they would have believed that no imminent invasion was underway. Davis and his partner Veemon and Meiko and her partner Hackmon waited anxiously for the arriving Knightmons.

"When are they finally coming?" the four-footed dragon asked impatiently.

"We don't know," replied the black-haired woman, biting her lower lip.

"Kudamon and Guilmon have said that the lowest number of Knightmons will appear here," Davis said.

"It doesn't matter! We will defeat as many as we need to!" shouted Veemon, banging one fist into the other.

In his eyes there was a determined expression. He would protect the human world. At all costs. Suddenly, a Knightmon raced towards the group of four.

"Something is coming," Davis said, "Ready, Veemon?"

"Yes! Veemon digivolve to..." but the blue dragon briefly collapsed.

Pain-filled, Veemon grabbed his neck and breathed harshly several times.

"Veemon?" his partner asked anxiously, "What's going on?"

"I... don't... know..." he quipped: "It's like when... when I wanted to fuse with Stingmon..."

"You didn't eat enough, Veemon!"

"Um..." Meiko raised her hand and looked anxiously at the redhead before looking at the Knightmon.

"I don't! My appetite is normal!" said the blue dragon, entwining his arms in front of the white chest.

"Um..." the black-haired woman quietly spoke again.

"Hackmon warp-digivolve to... SaviorHackmon!" Meiko's partner shouted and flew to Knightmon.

The young woman was startled by the sudden digivolution and looked after Hackmon with her eyes wide open.

"Hackmon! " she screamed, interrupting the argument from the two hotheads.

At a very fast pace, the ragon man flew to the Knightmon, ready to attack him. But he made no attempt to attack SaviorHackmon. Instead, he said:

"No need to worry. I am not your enemy. Sir Omnimon sends me to help you in battle."

"Omnimon?" asked SaviorHackmon, looking more closely at the Knightmon: "Who are you?"

"People call me Knightmon Wise Sword Mode... But I, Sir Gallantmon and Sir Sleipmon prefer to call me WiseKnightmon."

"Do you know when these other Knightmons will appear?"

"Unfortunately no... But I guess it's going to take some time."

"I see... Come with me first."

WiseKnightmon nodded and followed the dragon man to Veemon and the humans. Meanwhile, Davis and Veemon argued fiercely.

"Come on, Veemon!" shouted the red-brown-haired man.

"I can't! It's no longer possible! I can't digivolve normally anymore!" he said desperately.

"Then armor-digivolution!" he brought out his Digivice: "Digi mental of Cou-!"

"Wait, wait!" Veemon interrupted him: "I can't fly! It doesn't work! I'm completely useless!"

SaviorHackmon landed with WiseKnightmon by his side on the bridge behind the black-haired and the two cocks. The dragon man looked at the red-brown-haired and Veemon and thought his part. The allied Knightmon thrust his large sword into the ground and then entwined his arms in front of his chest. If he could assess it correctly, his help was really necessary, as one of the partner could not digivolve normally. With a sigh, he thought back what Sleipmon had told him.

_"We, so I, Gallantmon and the Homeostasis, want you, WiseKnightmon, to support the DigiDestined in the fight against King Drasil," were their words._

_Gallantmon then added:_

_"We rely on you, WiseKnightmon. The two of us will also support the DigiDestined... And that's where most Knightmons will appear..."_

_"Understood!" he confirmed the order at the time, turning around._

"And you're really our ally?" asked Meiko, somewhat insecure.

The question ripped WiseKnightmon out of his thoughts. He had not fully understood the words, yet he nodded and looked at the black-haired man.

"Be a little more alert, WiseKnightmon," said the dragon man: "Otherwise you will regret it."

"SaviorHackmon?" Meiko tilted her head slightly to the side and looked at him in amazement.

These words were unusual for her partner, who always sprayed with life and hardly took anything seriously. Probably it was because SaviorHackmon remembered his former life more and more, as in Izzy's room, where he partly remembered the fight against Raguelmon. However, Meiko did not want her partner to remember his former life. She didn't want to lose him. She did not want to lose her cheerful friend, who had grown so dear to her heart.

"What is Meiko?" was SaviorHackmon's question.

She swallowed heavily before shaking her head.

"Nothing..." she replied softly, folding her hands and playing something with them before dropping them back to the side.

"Okay..." the dragon man looked to the side.

He didn't know why, but he felt that his partner was very worried about him. That was actually okay. Because Meiko was his partner. But this time he didn't want her to worry about him... whatever she was worried about. SaviorHackmon barely shook. Then he looked at Davis and Veemon, who were still arguing.

Why couldn't the latter digivolve more? The dragon man knew that the answer was somehow connected to his former life. Why did he know that? He couldn't explain it.

"What's next?!" Veemon screamed angrily: "Oh, I know! Just because I can't digivolve right now, you want to say that I can't fight anymore! You forgot the armour-digivolution!"

"Armour-digivolution?!" Davis repeated, laughing dryly: "Armor digitations are as strong as Champion-Level Digimon or even weaker... Veemon. I don't want to lose you."

"I understand this, Davis... But I'm a Digimon and I'm getting stronger... Somehow."

"Somehow? How do you want to do this, Veemon?" in the eyes of the red-brown-haired man, a sad expression appeared: "We don't have a crest like Ken, Yolei or Cody... That's why you can't digivolve to your perfect-level..."

Meiko and Also SaviorHackmon had the impression that they should not interfere... or, more precisely, that they should not even be present at the argument. WiseKnightmon looked at the dragon man. With his eyes he asked the perfect-level Digimon next to him. He whispered:

"We should leave them alone."

"Good idea," the allied Knightmon nodded to him, clutching the handle of his sword.

Then he pulled it out of the ground and placed the wide side on his shoulder, protected by thick armour. Eventually, together with SaviorHackmon and Meiko, he left the jetty and settled a few meters away on the sandy beach. Meanwhile, the two hot heads continued to discuss.

"Why?" the blue dragon asked, addressing the question from his partner why they did not have a coat of arms.

"What do I know," Davis replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Say, Davis..." all of a time Veemon sounded very serious: "Do you think I somehow knew Quetzalmon in my previous life?"

"Who was..." he wanted to ask who this digimon was, but then it came to mind, so he asked something else: "Why do you think that?"

"I just don't get rid of the feeling that I knew her..." he looked sadly to the ground: "Maybe it's because of it. I can't digivolve because I'm grieving for Quetzalmon... She was somehow familiar to me..."

"Don't start with that, Veemon. Quetzalmon is dead and she cannot be reborn!"

"I KNOW!" he snapped at him, tears forming in his eyes: "You don't have to say this a thousand times! Do you think it's easy for me to know that there was someone who might have known my previous self! Quetzalmon would surely have known why I couldn't digivolve anymore! And I constantly wonder why I am so sad about her death! I hardly knew her!"

He looked at Davis with a heavy breath. Asking for an answer. Hell, he needed an answer. But at the same time, the blue dragon knew that his partner never knew the answer.

"Veemon..." the red-brown-haired man spoke softly and closed his eyes.

He was hurt that he had no answers to his partner's questions.

"It's okay, Davis. I'm just upset because I can't digivolve normally anymore," Veemon apologized, gritting his teeth.

Suddenly, a digimon rushed towards the two. WiseKnightmon flew protectively in front of them and parried the attack with his sword.

"Digi mental of courage, up!" exclaimed Davis.

"Veemon armour-digivolve to... Flamedramon! Fire Rocket!" he shot at the attacker, engulfed in flames.

However, Flamedramon was thrown away with a punch. He hit the ground and immediately turned back to Veemon. His partner and allied Knightmon rushed to the blue dragon. Meanwhile, SaviorHackmon rushed to the opposing Digimon, but stopped.

/Why did he stop?/ Meiko wondered and examined the foreign Digimon.

It looked like a human in a black full-body suit. She didn't know. Where does it come from? She had never seen such a human-like digimon before.

"You... you..." the dragon man stammered, his eyes widened: "You... are... Gankoomon..."

As soon as WiseKnightmon heard the name, he uttered a quiet curse.

"What is, WiseKnightmon?" asked Davis.

"He is a Royal Knight... Gankoomon," the allied Knightmon declared, "And SaviorHackmon's former teacher and master."

"Is he an ultimate?"

WiseKnightmon sighed heavily and nodded before saying:

"Yes... I say it quite openly. It would be a miracle if we win against him."

The red-brown-haired man swallowed heavily. How should they get against a ultimate-level digimon? In addition, Gankoomon was a Royal Knight and certainly very strong. Davis gritted his teeth. If no allied ultimate-level Digimon appeared, they would be lost. Veemonon's partner clenched his hands firmly into fists, so that the ankles were already white. The situation was hopeless.

"I could digivolve to my ultimate-level..." the allied Knightmon raised his voice.

This sounded unusually cool and sharp.

"But?" asked the red-brown-haired man.

"But I know I don't have a chance against him. I could stop Gankoomon for a while... but not more."

"Is your ultimate so weak?"

"Caution. My ultimate-level is not so weak... I know only quite accurately from my own experience that I wouldn't stand a chance against a Royal Knight."

Meanwhile, the Royal Knight raised his fist and wanted to crush SaviorHackmon. He did not want to react. Couldn't respond. He did not want to fight and kill his former master. He just didn't want it. His earlier memories blocked him. Had he not had them, he would have fought Gankoomon. Or? The dragon man was not so sure.

"SaviorHackmon!" Meiko screamed in panic.

She did not understand why her partner did not react and fought the enemy Digimon.

"Please, WiseKnightmon. You're the only one who can digivolve to its ultimate-level," Davis begged.

The allied Knightmon closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Okay..." he sighed again: "WiseKnightmon digivolve to...!"

* * *

Akira opened her eyes. Astonished, she blinked. Where was she? Then it came back to her. Caught somewhere, probably far away from their partner or her... friends? Did she consider Tai and Co. to be her friends? She quickly suppressed this thought, because she heard footsteps. She probably woke up from it. Was Crusadermon back? Instead, she saw another Digimon, Alphamon. He looked up at her briefly before flying to her. The black knight calmly modelled her... too quiet. The unpleasant calm made Akira swallow heavily. What did Alphamon have in store for her?

"I learned that Crusadermon had captured you," his calm and calm voice rang out.

The prisoner noticed that the black knight behaved strangely. Normally, at least she estimated it, he would become very aggressive towards her.

"What do you want?" she asked half angrily.

Akira struggled to contain her anger. No wonder. She was still trapped in this bubble and gradually she became hungry and thirsty.

"Crusadermon has comparatively little idea of you humans," Alphamon said, reaching into the bubble.

He grabbed the captive and pulled them out of the bubble. She herself got quite scared. Would he kill her here now?

"So..." said the black knight: "I know that you humans need something like food to live."

"Yes," she tried to pull her arms out of her grip.

"Forget it. You'd die anyway if you fell down from that height.'

"And why do you treat me so kindly, Alphamon?" she looked him suspiciously into his blue eyes"

'Don't get me wrong. I just want you to live so long Crusadermon can enforce her plan. After that you will die," the black knight declared.

"And what if I refuse to eat? Then I will die sooner."

She didn't like the idea that she had to die, no matter how good her situation was. She didn't want to die.

"It's up to you," Alphamon replied coolly: "Dynasmon will be so devastated after your death that he voluntarily joins us."

"Don't underestimate my partner!" she hissed.

"You know. I could break all the bones here now." to reinforce the threat, the black knight narrowed the room in his hand somewhat.

However, this caused the prisoner to let out a sound of pain. She then soaked the air through her mouth, while her whole body was covered in sweat.

"Alphamon..." she cried and breathed in and out several times.

"But I don't do it because we need you hostage," he said, pushing his hand back into the bubble: "I'm going to get you food now. And since I am a Digimon with honour, I will fulfil one last wish for you."

He put Akira in the bubble and pulled his hand back.

"I want to go back to my family!" she exclaimed angrily.

"A wish that does not demand your freedom," replied the black knight.

"Then tell me why you help King Drasil."

"I help him because there is no other way."

"How am I supposed to understand this?" the prisoner asked.

"Something will make your world fuse with ours. To prevent this, a world must be destroyed."

"Wouldn't the other world be destroyed?!"

"That is why King Drasil is beginning to isolate the digital world from your world more and more while we will destroy it."

"And you think that our universe consists of only one planet, which has technology?!"

"King Drasil doesn't believe it, he knows it!"

"Where did it come from? Has he ever been in my world?"

"King Drasil knows everything."

"The number Pi on four decimal places," she couldn't resist and began to grin.

"I'm not King Drasil," Alphamon said, folding his arms in front of his chest guard.

Her face darkened again and she looked down from the bubble to the ground. Immediately, she was terrified. It was at dizzying heights. Her eyes slowly widened, but wondered a bit why she hadn't noticed the height earlier.

"But suddenly you show a lot of fear for a prisoner," the black knight replied.

"B... B-because I fear heights... You want to torture me with height now, don't you?" she admitted.

She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath to get her fear under control.

"No," Alphamon replied, "Although I am your enemy, I am a very honourable digimon. I'm not torturing my enemies."

Akira's eyes widened. Not out of fear, but in amazement. She would never have believed that her enemy had such a soft side that he talks about honour.

"Really?" she said.

"Really." he assured her.

Then he flew down to the bottom and turned his back on her. He took a few steps before he put a hand on his helmet. The prisoner noticed this and asked:

"Is everything okay?"

"I don't need your worries," he replied coolly.

Alphamon's mood had already changed. Cool, cold-hearted, that's how she would have described him now. Without another word, the black knight left. However, Akira somehow noticed that Alphamon was behaving strangely.

* * *

"WiseKnightmon digivolve to... DarkKnightmon!" he shouted.

A large digimon, wrapped in black armour, appeared behind the light of digitation. The front of the armour was white and on the chest sat a w-like, gold metal symbol with six slits. The feet, if you could call it that, consisted of golden blades, while the head of the digimon was comparatively very small. The head itself was also wrapped in armour that was black at the back and white at the front. Upstairs sat a golden hood with two horns. The Digimon wore a mouth guard and his golden eyes looked determined at Gankoomon. In his right hand he held a red spear with two ends. DarkKnightmon looked like an infidelity, eerie and ominous knight.

When Gankoomon saw the dark knight, he raced toward him. DarkKnightmon swung his spear and parried the man's punch. Although it seemed that the dark knight Gankoomon was superior, this was not the case. The man was constantly at his ultimate-level, while DarkKnightmon could only hold it for a maximum of five minutes.

The dark knight briefly thought that it was foolish to put his life at risk. Again, he knew that if the human world were to be destroyed, the digital world would cease to exist. That's why DarkKnightmon fought.

Around Gankoomon's fist, a yellow aura ignited. The dark knight was already preparing for a painful blow, but SaviorHackmon flew in front of him and was hit by the fist instead. The dragon man was thrown against a house wall before hitting the ground and turning back to Hackmon. Meiko ran to her partner, knelt down and lifted him up.

"Hackmon... Hackmon!" she shouted again and again.

But the four-footed dragon had lost consciousness. DarkKnightmon took a quick look at the black-haired woman and her partner. However, this carelessness was followed by a devastating injury. The man had the yellow aura formed around his fist into a claw, which then drilled into DarkKnightmon's armour. With his spears, the dark knight tried to meet Gankoomon, but the entire figure of the aura appeared and parried the attack with the free claw.

DarkKnightmon's spear fell to the ground while the energetic figure removed its claw. The dark knight's body immediately fell towards the ground. From a distortion, a red flash came in and caught DarkKnightmon.

"DarkKnightmon, are you well?" Sleipmon asked him.

Her voice was accompanied by concern as she pointed her crossbow at Gankoomon.

"Don't... don't worry... Sir Sleipmon... I will be dead soon..." he broke off.

The six-footed horse closed her eyes. She knew that the dark knight would die right away. But she could not leave the Digiritter alone with a Royal Knight.

"Sir... Sleipmon..." panted DarkKnightmon: "Don't… leave… them… alone..."

"Can you last a little bit longer, DarkKnightmon?" was her question.

Gankoomon rushed to Meiko and Hackmon and wanted to attack them. The black-haired woman gripped her partner tighter. She was afraid that the man would kill her, so she closed her eyes. Meiko noticed her breathing was going faster as tears gathered in her eyes. As if out of nowhere, another Digimon raced in and beat the enemy away with a fist. It was Dynasmon who looked furiously at Gankoomon.

"Where's your hiding place?!" the ultimate-level of Wanyamon demanded: "Don't force me to torture you, Gankoomon!"

Rosemon flew to his side and replied:

"Stay calm."

"Tch," Dynasmon said, angrily eyeing the man.

He gritted his teeth. He did not expect the two DigiDestined would receive support from two Royal Knights and an ultimate-level Digimon. By now he had defeated one and he would not live for so long. Gankoomon quietly uttered a curse before a distortion appeared behind him.

"Do you want to flee, Gankoomon?!" shouted Wanyamon's ultimate-level.

"I don't think I can win against you," he said, wanting to disappear into the distortion.

Furious, Dynasmon raced towards him, but he did not make it in time and landed just before the water of the sea. Meanwhile, DarkKnightmon began to creep up.

"Sir Sleipmon... I am... glad... that you... are... with me… right now... I… am sorry… that I… that I… could no… longer… be… at your side…" he panted before dissolving into data.

Sleipmon closed her eyes again to suppress her tears before she said:

"Thank you, DarkKnightmon... Thank you for helping us, despite your loyalty to Alphamon."

The six-footed horse landed on the sandy ground of Tokyo harbour and digivolve back to Kudamon. Then she flew to Davis and looked up at him.

"Kudamon... Is it possible that a digimon that was previously able to digivolve can no longer digivolve?" he asked her.

"It's impossible... Once a digimon can digivolve, it can and does not forget it again. But why do you ask, Davis?" her white ears shrugged.

'Because Veemon can't digivolve anymore even though he had eaten enough and rested."

"That's really weird..."

"Do you have an idea about why?"

"No... And I don't think Gallantmon or the Homeostasis know the answer either."

Meiko, who was still caring Hackmon in her arms, Mimi and Rosemon joined them and looked at them.

"What exactly is going on with Veemon?" asked Rosemon.

"He can't digivolve normally anymore," the red-brown-haired man explained.

Veemon, who was lying next to him, opened his eyes and looked around slightly astonished at first. Then his gaze fell on the sea and he breathed only one name:

"Quetzalmon..."

"Not again," Davis moaned, giving his partner a gentle head nut: "Don't dream!"

"Sorry... Where is Akira?" the blue dinosaur asked after looking at Dynasmon.

"Kidnapped," Mimi said succinctly.

"What?" the black-haired woman said in shock.

Akira's partner flew back to the beach and growled:

"Don't blame me for kidnapping her."

With this he flapped powerfully his purple wings and flew high into the air. He had to calm himself down.

"And who says that to Akira's sister?" the red-brown-haired man asked uncertainly.

"You," Veemon replied.

"Not me."

"Who then?"

"If Mr. Nishijima or Ms. Himekawa were still alive, they could have done it," Mimi said.

"But they're not," Rosemon replied.

"Unfortunately..." she looked to the ground.

Meanwhile, Dynasmon flew through a cloud.

/Akira.../, he thought to himself: /It is my fault that you were kidnapped. Mine alone./

He was plagued by more and more accusations and he just wanted his partner to be safe. He toyed with the idea that he would join the opposing side if Akira was kept out of the matter in the future. But then Homeostasis would have lost a valuable ally. Wanyamon's ultimate-level was in discord. On the one hand, he did not want to risk his partner's life, but on the other hand he did not want to betray the Homeostasis. Infuriated, Dynasmon screamed.


	28. Chapter 28 - Davis and Veemon

Chapter 28 – Davis and Veemon

After all DigiDestined and Sleipmon and Gallantmon were back in Tokyo, they all went their separate ways. Meiko and Hackmon returned to Tottori with the help of a distortion. As the stars at the foundation of the gentle darkness sent their light to the earth, Davis lay in his bed. He stared with his eyes towards the ceiling. The right back of his hand lay on his forehead while he was deeply immersed in his thoughts. Why could Veemon no longer digivolve normally? But his partner was able to maintain his rookie level for a very long time.

The blue dragon also looked at the ceiling, but he thought (again) of Quetzalmon. The more he thought of her, the sadder he felt. But he himself didn't want to annoy his partner with it... Veemon had already annoyed him enough.

"Say, Veemon..." began the red-brown-haired man.

"Yes?" said the blue dragon.

"Do Digimon also feel love?"

"No." he replied.

"But why are you always so sad... You just thought of Quetzalmon again, didn't you?" he turned to his partner and looked at him seriously.

He just nodded and sighed heavily.

"I don't know why... But I miss Quetzalmon... Even though I didn't know her very well," Veemon closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Veemon..." Davis got up and walked toward him before kneeling down to him.

"It sounds crazy, doesn't it?" the blue dragon quipped: "I miss someone I didn't know and is already dead... Just crazy."

He laughed dryly. It was ridiculous and crazy. Why did he have to mourn Quetzalmon so much? He didn't know her. He knew nothing about her. It had only been a brief moment. A moment that shouldn't really mean much to him. But the moment had meant something to him.

Veemon's eyes became watery. Within seconds, he embraced his small blue body with his arms and began to cry. It was the sadness he had accumulated for a long time. His partner placed his arms on the back of the blue dragon and encircled him in a hug.

"Quetzalmon... Quetzalmon..." Veemon repeated her name again and again, very quietly.

"Don't worry. I am with you, Veemon. You're my best friend and together we'll find out why you can't digivolve and what's going on with you," Davis said.

Gently he lifted up his partner and placed him on his bed.

"Davis... I want to know who I was before I was sealed in the Digimental of Courage," Veemon said, "But..."

"No buts! We'll find out who you were!" the red-brown-haired man shouted: "But not until tomorrow. It's in the middle of the night. We will start searching tomorrow in the digital world."

"Thank you, Davis. I'm glad I've become your partner."

* * *

Raidramon raced through the steppe of the digital world at a rapid pace. On his back sat Davis, who was able to hold on to his partner well. The wind whipped against his face and neck as his hair moved through the fast speed. The red-brown-haired man wore his aviator glasses so that no small stones got into his eyes.

"And how exactly do we want to find out about my past?" the black-armoured dog asked.

"No idea... It sounded so easy somehow," Davis laughed dryly.

"That happens when you go without thinking!" complained Raidramon.

"Come on. You were the one who woke me up at five o'clock in the morning! And it is weekend!"

"Because we'll have more time."

The black armoured stretched his front legs before jumping several metres with its hind legs. In the process, his body stretched to full length. He did this over and over again. So he moved on as Raidramon.

After a good ten minutes, the two passed a rushing river. A few digimon quenched their thirst here, including the black armoured dog. He tilted his head down and drank from the wet. Davis himself, meanwhile, descended and looked through the area. Next to the river, he recognized a forest in the distance. To the east was a high mountain, the top of which was above the clouds. In addition to Raidramon, an old acquaintance joined him. It was Dorumon who also showed his thirst on the river.

"Hello," the purple Digimon greeted her after lifting his muzzle out of the water.

"Man... I haven't seen you for a while," said the red-brown-haired man: "You were suddenly gone."

"Yes... A distortion... Caught me and brought me back into the digital world," he explained, scratching himself with a claw behind his ear.

He then shook his entire body and smiled. But he was happy about the encounter.

Dorumon nodded to the two and began drinking again from the river. Raidramon also drank from the wet. How cool and pleasant this was on the half-dried throat. After the black-armoured dog raised his head up again, he looked the jewel on the purple Digimon's forehead. This one had strong similarities with the jewel on Alphamon's forehead... or did he just imagine it? With a shake of his head, he dispelled this idea.

"Why are you here?" asked Dorumon curiously, wagging his tail.

"We want to find out about Raidramon's former life... More specifically, about Quetzalmon," Davis said.

"I'd leave it. It never came anything good about searching for your past life," the purple Digimon said, turning to the two.

"Do you have an idea what's going on with me?" was the question of the black-armoured dog.

"What's going to happen to you?" asked Dorumon.

"I can only do armour-evolutions. I can't digivolve to my adult-level anymore."

"That's impossible. I don't know a Digimon who..." his eyes widened as he remembered something.

"Do you have an idea?" the red-brown-haired man asked his question.

"No... But I just realized that there is a ruin here nearby with strange runes that I've never seen before..." he tilted his head slightly to the side.

"I want to see these ruins," Raidramon shouted.

"I have no interest," Davis said.

"But I want to see these ruins, Davis."

"Okay..." he sighed and climbed back onto his partner's back.

"Good. Then I'll show you the ruin," smiled the purple Digimon, sprinting off, closely followed by the black-armoured dog.

Although Dorumon said the ruin was nearby, it was just over half an hour away. The landscape changed to a high mountain range. The purple Digimon jumped on Raidramon's back, much to his displeasure, and pointed his head to a cliff.

"There's the ruin up there," Dorumon said.

"What?!" the black-armoured dog said in horror.

"And how are we going to get up there?" asked Davis uncertainly.

"Raidramon hops from stone to stone until he reaches the cliff," explained the purple Digimon.

"You aren't serious," Raidramon began.

"No, no, no!" Dorumon interrupted him: "But do you want to see the ruins now or not?"

Davis' partner growled in frustration and looked up to the cliff. In fact, there were several small cliffs on the rock face, which he could use for a short time. Deep breathing, the black-armoured dog closed his eyes and imagined the path.

When his eyelids opened, he started to jump and landed on a rocky outcrop with all fours. Raidramon jumped on while the small cliff broke. Again and again, Davis's partner jumped from one small cliff to another, always accompanied by the fear of slipping off or that the rock under his, Davis' and Dorumon's weight broke.

After ten jumps, the black-armoured dog slipped and fell a few meters into the depths. The redhead saw his end and closed his eyes. Just in time, his partner recognized a small cliff and landed on it before jumping again. Raidramon concentrated so much that he didn't even notice that they reached the cliff in question. When he wanted to start jumping again, the purple Digimon shouted:

"We're already there!"

He climbed off the back of the black-armoured dog and looked down to the ground. Davis swallowed several times. His hands were wet with sweat and he felt like he had a lump in his neck. Rather uncertainly, he rose from the back of his partner. His legs trembled before he turned around unsafely. In front of him stretched another rock face.

"There's nothing there," said the red-brown-haired man: "Where's the ruin?!"

"Ah, sorry..." Dorumon apologized, though he sounded like he wasn't sorry: "Wrong mountain."

"Should this be a joke?!" Raidramon exclaimed angrily, trying to bite the purple Digimon in the tail.

"Hey! Stop!" complained the purple Digimon: "I can be wrong sometimes. But now at least I know where exactly the ruins are. Dorumon digivolve to... Dorugamon!"

Dorugamon flapped with his two wings.

"Get on my back. I'll fly you to ruin," said the dragon.

The black armoured dog wrapped itself in a light and turned back to Veemon. Meanwhile, a light had also separated from his body and flew to his partner's pocket. There he usually carried his communication device, where he kept the Digimentals. Or rather, the mentals always returned there. At the thought, the red-brown-haired man pulled out the device and opened it. Three eggs appeared on the screen.

"Huh? Why are there three Digimentals?" asked Davis.

Two of the eggs were only slightly transparent. The third Digimental, however, had only a weak edge.

"What's going on Davis?" was Veemon's question, jumping on Dorugamon's back.

"Nothing," he folded the device back and put it back in his pocket.

Then he also climbed on the back of the dragon. He flapped his wings and ran over the cliff before flapping his wings again. After a few wing strokes, the trio was far away from the mountain. Among them stretched a steppe with isolated trees. The blue dragon thought that there was once a forest here. Suddenly, the two-legged dragon struck with only one wing, causing him to reach a side like position. Davis and Veemon, who had not expected it, slipped off Dorugamon's back and fell into the deep.

"Veemon! Digivolve!" the red-brown-haired man shouted in panic.

"Veemon digivolve to... Veemon digivolve to... Veemon digivolve to...! It doesn't worl!" his partner shouted: "I can't digivolve anymore!"

The flying dragon watched for a few seconds as Davis and Veemon fell into the depths before sighing.

/I thought Veemon was going to digivolve now... I have to help them.../, Dorugamon thought: "Dorugamon digivolve to... DoruGremon!"

DoruGremon angled his four wings close to his body and fell into a dive, shooting behind the two.

Davis, meanwhile, had closed his eyes and feared for his life. He briefly wondered why DoruGremon had done this, but the idea was already expelled.

"Veemon! Digivolve already!," the red-brown-haired man shouted.

"I can't!" his partner replied.

Davis felt the wind whipping on his body. Inexorably, he and his partner fell into the depths. How could the dragon just drop them? The redhead breathed out quickly and in, before briefly opening his eyes. A few meters away from him, he saw the blue dragon. He stretched out his arm and tried to reach him somehow. But it brought nothing and the ground was approaching more and more and so Davis closed his eyes again.

The red dragon eventually grabbed Veemon's tail between his teeth and caught the red-brown-haired hood with a claw. Then he flapped several times violently with his four wings so that he could land. He gently dropped Davis to the ground before letting go of the blue dragon's tail. The red-brown-haired man slowly opened his eyes again and grabbed a tuft of grass with one hand. The hand continued to slide to the ground and dug it into it. Veemon opened his eyelids as well. His scales were slightly wet and his entire body trembled.

"Is everything okay you two?" asked DoruGremon.

"You... You have nerves to ask!," Davis screamed angrily, pointing, "What's this going to be?!"

"I thought Veemon would digivolve if you were in danger..." he bent his head down ashamed.

"Didn't work..." Veemon raved, entangled his arms in front of his chest.

"I'm sorry..." the red dragon wrapped himself in a light and turned back to Dorumon.

"This ruin... It never existed, didn't it?" the blue dragon asked, disappointed.

The purple digimon nodded and closed his eyes.

"Then you did all this just to help me?" Veemon looked at Dorumon.

"I can think of a few more methods so you can digivolve," he smiled a little.

"Great!" rejoiced Davis: "Well. What should we do?"

"Run," replied the purple digimon.

"Huh?" the blue dragon said in amazement.

"The three of us will run until we can't do more," the purple digimon declared.

He started running. Davis and Veemon looked at each other briefly before following Dorumon. He immediately jumped over a tree trunk and continued to rush away. The red-brown-haired man and his partner followed him on, but immediately the former felt a sting and after ten seconds he stumbled and hit the ground painfully. Veemon came to a standstill out of breath and knelt down to his partner before shouting out loud:

"Dorumon! Davis stumbled!"

The said digimon stopped immediately and went to the two.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Davis wanted to get up, but felt a lot of pain in his leg and his ankle. He grimaced and bit his teeth together.

"My foot..." he gasped.

The blue dragon looked anxiously at his partner.

"Davis... Can you still run?" was his question.

"No... My foot hurts hellishly."

"There's a cave nearby," Dorumon said.

"I'm tired with your suggestions!," the red-brown-haired man shouted: "They don't bring us anything! Rather, they kill us!"

"I just wanted to help," the purple digimon looked down on the ground, scurrying a little with one foot.

"Just go!" Davis told him, "You don't help us at all."

"I see... Okay. Dorumon digivolve to Dorugamon!" he flapped his wings vigorously and flew away.

Veemon followed the dragon with his eyes before turning to his partner.

"You shouldn't have been so harsh..." he said, his hands put on his hips: "Do we want to visit the cave that Dorugamon mentioned?"

The blue dragon looked into the sky. Dark clouds had gathered in the sky and soon there would surely be a heavy shower.

"Why?" asked Davis.

"It will certainly rain soon..."

"Ah... I see..."

"So... Just say, Digimental of Friendship up... Then you climb on my back and I'm looking for the cave."

"Okay. Digimental of Friendship up!"

"Veemon armour- digivolve to... Raidramon!"

The red-brown-haired man climbed onto the back of his partner, who soon after took off. Shortly before they discovered the cave, however, it began to rain. Wet with the rain both reached the protection and Davis climbed down again. He jumped to the wall and slowly settled on the floor. He then took off his jacket and used it as a pillow for his aching foot. Eventually, Raidramon returned to Veemon and sat next to his partner, pulling his legs, which he clutched with his arms.

"Is your leg still hurting?" the blue dragon asked.

"Yes..." he looked at his foot: "But don't worry about it, Veemon. It's not broken."

"Really?"

"Yes... When I was five, I broke my leg while climbing," he closed his eyes and laughed a little as he recalled: "My parents had to take me home and I wasn't allowed to go until the plaster was gone. That was a lot of fun for me."

"Did anyone take care of you?"

"Sure. I could only walk with the help of crutches."

"Your sister?"

"No! This stupid goat had to go to school. My mother took care of me."

"Davis... Maybe, like Yolei, you should tell your family that you're a DigiDestined," Veemon suddenly changed the subject.

"What?! Are you crazy?! No way!"

"Okay, okay... I have already understood. I just thought that..." the blue dragon broke off.

"That I'm the one who prevents you from digivolving?" Davis added.

"There was never any talk of that!" he jumped up angrily: "I... Okay... I believe that you are preventing me from doing so."

"Why?"

"Well... you never tell your family that you're a DigiDestined."

"Veemon..." he patted his head.

"I just feel bad because I can't digivolve normally."

"Veemon. I saw something strange in my communication device today."

"And what?"

"It seems like a new Digimental is forming..." the red-brown-haired man looked at the exit of the cave, where he still realized that it was raining.

"Really?" Veemon looked at his partner sceptically: "But how can this be?"

"No idea," he shook his head and closed his eyes before sighing.

The blue dragon noticed that Davis had fallen asleep. Veemon smiled softly at him and made himself comfortable. He listened to the rain outside before falling asleep.

* * *

"Where are we going?" asked Veemon.

He noticed he wasn't at his rookie-level. But he wasn't at his adult-level either. He liked this situation surprisingly well. The blue dragon noticed a tremendous strength in him and he liked this very much.

"I'd like to introduce someone to you," the female-sounding voice explained.

Veemon looked at Quetzalmon, who flew next to him. She seemed very pleased, but also excited.

"And who?" was his question.

"You'll see soon."

The white snake flew in front of him and took the lead. A short time later they reached a forest. The blue dragon immediately noticed that this forest was slightly different. Suspiciously, he narrowed his eyes and prepared to fight. But he quickly noticed that Quetzalmon was completely relaxed, and so Veemon calmed down.

"Eldoradimon!" the white snake shouted.

It seemed as if the earth was shaking. The blue dragon growled and saw a gigantic head rising from the earth. Two blue eyes looked curiously at Veemon. The gigantic Digimon raised his corners of his mouth and smiled.

"That's..." the blue dragon stuttered in disbelief.

He had not thought that the forest was in fact a gigantic digimon.

"I've known Eldoradimon for a long time," Quetzalmon calmly explained, nodding to the giant tortoise: "He picked me up at the time and asked me to build a small town on him... But I couldn't."

"And you want me to help you because of that," Veemon said.

"Not only because of this... I have a special gift. I can look into the future. As you know, such digimon are hunted, killed, and their data absorbed so that they are not reborn. But we are also only digimon who want to live."

"Quetzalmon..." he closed his eyes and sighed before opening the lids again: "You know I have to kill you now."

"I know..." the white snake looked to the ground.

The blue dragon spread his hand and tried to ram it into her, but Eldoradimon's head shot between the two to prevent this.

"Is there no other way?" the giant tortoise asked.

"No," Veemon replied succinctly: "King Drasil has ordered that we kill every digimon that has the ability to look into the future. I myself do not know the reason and I am reluctant to execute the command, but command is command. So, move, Eldoradimon."

"No," he said, hitting his long, stoned tail on the ground.

"Please. Don't attack Eldoradimon," Quetzalmon said, "I'm aware of the consequences. I was just hoping that you would listen to me and spare me."

"Quetzalmon... I don't want to kill you, but-"

"Then don't kill her," the giant tortoise interrupted him.

"It's no different. If I oppose the orders of King Drasil, then..."

"You will be killed," Quetzalmon concluded.

"Exactly.", the blue dragon nodded and sighed heavily: "But I don't want to kill you, Quetzalmon."

She listened and looked at him. She had reckoned with this, but now when she heard these words, they sounded so unreal.

"I... I will help you build this city. Even if I get the wrath of King Drasil," he smiled somewhat.

* * *

With a gentle growl, Veemon woke up again and blinked a few times. What a weird dream it was. The blue dragon stretched extensively and looked at the cave entrance. It had stopped raining by now. His eyes wandered to Davis, who had laid down against a large stone. Veemon got up and yawned extensively. Again, he looked outside and realized it was late at night. They should return to the human world soon.

Somehow the blue dragon knew that King Drasil would send out at least one subordinate so that he could capture at least one more human being. Suddenly, someone obscured the entrance. Veemon saw a pair of eyes that seemed to look at him. Immediately, he shook his partner's shoulder. He muttered something and turned around. The blue dragon shook his shoulder again, leaving Davis awake furiously. But he quickly saw the strange digimon, which now also studied him.

"Get lost!" the stranger digimon growled, letting his cock pop on the ground.

A whipping sound rang out, which startled Veemon.

"We just wanted to go," the red-brown-haired man grumbled.

"Are you spies of King Drasil?" he growled.

"No!" shouted the blue dragon.

"What are you then?" he asked.

"I'm a DigiDestined and this is my partner Veemon," Davis said.

"And I'm supposed to believe you?" the stranger digimon looked at the two sceptically and let his tail hit on the ground again.

"Believe us or don't believe us. We tell the truth. I swear in my honour, we don't lie," Veemon said.

"If you swear to your honour, I believe you," he sighed, going into the cave.

He lay on a large stone, but kept an eye on the invaders in his cave.

"Why... did you distrust us?" was the question of the red-brown-haired man.

"I thought you were working with King Drasil," the stranger Digimon replied, yawning a bit: "You know... King Drasil is looking for me. I once served him faithfully... But that time is now over. I'm reluctant to call myself a Royal Knight."

"And what are you doing here?" asked Veemon, "I mean... Why aren't you looking for a human partner?"

"I have a job here in the digital world," he said, "I protect Primary Village."

"Primary Village?" repeated Davis.

"Digimon are reborn in this village," his partner told him.

"Ah!" he said, "But why are you protecting the village?"

"Because another Royal Knight does too. My abilities are of great use to Primary Village. I can see and hear very well and see Digimon miles away."

"Who are you?" the blue dragon asked.

"My name is Examon... I was a Royal Knight," he said.

"Then you could bring us into the human world!" the red-brown-haired man exclaimed with delight: "I mean. You can certainly create distortions!"

"I can do that... But I'm not going to create distortions because then King Drasil knows I'm here..." Examon sighed: "But you can ask Elecmon. He will certainly help you."

"Good. Thank you, Examon," Davis smiled and stood up.

"Should I lead you into the village?" was the question of the great dragon.

"Yes!" replied Veemon.

Examon showed the two of them the way to said village and left it just as quickly. Elecmon was a little angry that the big dragon had brought two strangers here. But without much grumbling, he created a distortion that brought the red-brown-haired man and his partner digimon back to Tokyo.


	29. Chapter 29 - Past

Chapter 29 – Past

Meiko slept calmly in her bed in Tottori. She and Hackmon had come back to Tottori through a distortion. Now the black-haired woman slept in her bed while her partner looked ahead of him. His left front leg was laid over his other and he was deeply engrossed in thought.

He thought of the encounter with Gankoomon, his master from his former life. The four-footed dragon sighed. He turned his head to Meiko and watched her a bit. Now that he was getting back his memories from his previous life, he felt bad. Hackmon made major accusations about Meicoomon's death.

He shouldn't have used Un Pour Tous at the time and right when he had the chance to kill Meiko's first partner... This could certainly have prevented many problems that had arisen... For example, Meicoomon could not be reborn because she died in the real world. With a shake of the head, the four-footed dragon turned his gaze away from the black-haired.

He himself now had many questions. What should he do now that he had almost all the memories of his previous life? Should he leave Meiko? Or should he stay with her and pretend he has few memories of his previous life? But that wouldn't work, because he was very honest with her. He thought for a while until he came to a decision.

* * *

Yawning, Meiko opened her eyes and straightened up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned again. Then she put on her glasses and blinked a few times. At first, she didn't even notice that Hackmon wasn't there. But then she got a fright. Normally, her partner was always with her when she woke up. However, the four-footed dragon was not there. Maybe he was in another room... She hoped so. She went to her mirror and took the brush in her hand before quickly brushing her hair. Then she put the object back, took her Digivice and put it in her pocket before she left the room and went to the kitchen.

"Morning, Meiko," her mother greeted her.

"Good morning, Mom," she replied, looking around.

Ms. Mochizuki immediately noticed this and asked:

"Is something wrong, Meiko?"

"Where's Hackmon?" was her counter-question: "Have you seen him?"

"No. Wasn't he in your room?"

The black-haired woman shook her head. Where was her partner? He couldn't just disappear. Or he just wanted to take a morning walk and would return soon. That's what she hoped for. Meiko's father, who already had grey hair and also wore glasses, came in and sat on a chair at the table.

"Good morning," he said, before his wife presented him with a coffee.

"Good morning, Dad. Have you seen Hackmon?" the black-haired woman asked him.

"Hackmon?" he repeated the name and took a sip of the coffee: "Is he your new partner?"

"Yes... Normally he always waits when I wake up... But today, when I woke up, he wasn't in my room..." she looked at Mr. Mochizuki, slightly unsettled.

"Why Hackmon?" was his question, sounding rather cool.

"Why?" she looked at her father in amazement.

"I just wonder why Hackmon is your new partner."

"Is it so wrong?" she bit her lower lip.

"Of course not... I'm just a little surprised..." he said thoughtfully.

He recalled the two conversations he had with Hackmon once. He had the first conversation with Daigo Nishijima, the second alone. The four-footed dragon seemed very emotionally cold and better-known. And exactly the same Digimon was Meiko's partner? He couldn't quite befriend the idea. He had once seen Hackmon's baby-level. At that time he seemed very playful and totally affectionate to the black-haired, almost like Meicoomon. Mr. Mochizuki could not and did not want to believe that Botamon was Hackmon.

"Why?" his daughter asked him, and also sat in a chair opposite him.

"Because he acted very coldly when I spoke to him a year ago," he said, taking another sip of coffee.

"I mean... I had also met him as Meicoomon... Well… Then she went crazy," she swallowed heavily at the memories.

Meiko didn't like to remember it. She recalled how her former partner had thanked her. Dan-dan, Meicoomon said. The black-haired woman could hardly hold back her tears, but forced herself to smile. Her former partner was very happy about this and waved goodbye to her as she slowly turned into data fragments before disappearing completely. Meiko then began to cry violently before calming down and repeating Meicoomon's last words. Dan-dan, thank you for everything. That's what her former partner was saying.

"I... I'm looking for Hackmon," the black-haired woman said, and rushed to her room, where she moved.

Then she ran into the hallway and took her shoes before opening the front door and storming out into the near forest. Their run was fast and uninterrupted. She didn't pay much attention to the way. It was a miracle that Meiko did not stumble and fall. Again and again she called for her partner. Hoped that he would hear her and he would come to her.

"Hackmon, where are you? Hackmon!" she shouted after him.

She didn't even notice that the area was changing. It wasn't until she stepped out of the forest that she realized a park with lots of people. The black-haired eyes widened as she sank to her lower legs. How could that be? There was no park near her house. So how did she get there?

"How? How did I end up in Tokyo?" she wondered: "Tottori is on the east coast of Japan... and Tokyo on the west coast... How did I end up here?"

Shocked, she pinched herself in the upper arm. Maybe it was just a dream. But it hurt. More and more she wondered how she could get to Tokyo. That was completely impossible. There had been no distortion... Or was she too busy racing and looking for a distortion? It had to be. However, another problem has now arose. In which part of the city was it located? She didn't have a cell phone with her, so she didn't know where she was. Once upon a time, she was sure. She didn't know how to get to Tokyo. But she could now ask her friends for help after finding Hackmon. Meiko began to move and search for her friends and the four-footed dragon. But it was harder than it looked. Because she couldn't find a familiar face. With a heavy sigh, the black-haired woman sat down and looked at her thighs until she noticed a shadow over her.

"You... are... one of the DigiDestined, right?" a male-sounding voice asked her.

Meiko looked up and recognized Doc Kato Azuma... or more precisely only Azuma and a woman clad in a white dress. First of all, she was terrified. She hadn't expected him.

"Where... is your... partner?" asked Azuma, kneading his hands.

Somehow he was totally insecure... or did the black-haired woman just imagined it? No... The former doctor seemed to have been replaced. He wasn't too confident anymore.

"Where is your... partner?" he repeated the question.

"Gone... gone without a trace...", she replied, depressed.

"Ah... Sorry."

The black-haired woman shook her head and then said:

"It's okay... It is not your fault."

"Thank you... But..." he broke off and watched two children and their mother.

"So... Um... How are you?"

"I'm doing a therapy..."

"I see... How is it going?"

"Well, I think..."

"He gets pretty strong medication because he suffers from depression." said the woman next to him.

"Oh... That's why you're not yourself..." replied Meiko.

"Yes... I don't really want anything... I'm just glad that Shin visits me regularly..." Azuma continued

"Have you told him that..." now she interrupted the sentence.

"That what?" Azuma looked at her.

"That Akira... well..."

"Meiko? How did you come here?" asked another male-sounding voice.

The person in question looked to the voice and recognized her boyfriend Tai. He looked at her in amazement, thinking that the black-haired woman in Tottori was with her parents.

"Tai..." she said, and stood up.

Meiko looked at him. The brown-haired woman could see that she could hardly hold back her tears.

"What happened?" was Tai's question.

"Hackmon is... gone..." she said.

Meanwhile, the woman next to the former scientist looked at the clock and was terrified. He had to go back to the hospital.

"You have to go back, Azuma..." the woman said, quickly saying goodbye before walking away with Azuma.

The brown-haired man pursued Azuma with his eyes.

"Wasn't that..." he wondered.

"Yes... That was Azuma... He's being treated..." replied the black-haired woman.

"Mr. Kawa will probably be very happy about this..." said Tai, as Meiko turned around and looked around the area looking.

"Can I help you?" was his question.

His girlfriend just nodded and they both set off. They searched for a while and yet they did not find Hackmon. He had disappeared without a trace. The two searched in different parks, streets and train stations. Once they settled on the top of a skyscraper. They also searched for him at two schools. But no trace. It was almost as if the four-footed dragon didn't want to be found by anyone. Eventually they found Agumon and Gabumon talking under a bridge. The two digimon were visibly surprised that Tai and Meiko found them. Normally, they always chose hiding places that no one else could find.

"Are you okay, Tai?" the yellow dinosaur asked.

"Hackmon is gone," he said, looking at the black-haired man.

She looked helplessly at the two parts of the ultimate level Omnimon.

"What?" the reptile-digimon's eyes widened with astonishment: "But why did he disappear?"

"I... don't know," Meiko said, "I don't... know..."

"We could look for him in the digital world," Agumon suggested.

"He'll probably be there," Gabumon added.

"Thank you, you two," Tai said, smiling.

"I'm going to come along," the black-haired woman decided.

"No," said the reptile digimon.

"You would only be in our way, Meiko." the yellow dinosaur said.

"Okay..." she looked at the floor as the two rookie digimon created a distortion.

Before Tai could say anything else, the two digimon disappeared. The brown-haired man put his hand on Meiko's shoulder and smiled cheerfully at her. She took a deep breath before moving. The brown-haired man couldn't believe his girlfriend was still looking for Hackmon. She had to be really worried about her partner. Again, an hours-long search began. So at three o'clock in the afternoon it finally started to rain. This did not dampen Meiko's search drive. She didn't want to lose another partner. She just didn't want it.

"Meiko... We should stop. It's raining hard and we haven't found Hackmon," Tai said after it had been raining for ten minutes.

"No..." she contradicted him: "I have to find him... He-"

'It doesn't make sense. We are completely soaked and exhausted."

"I must-" her legs gave way and she threatened to hit the ground.

"Meiko!" the brown-haired man shouted in horror and could just catch her: "Is everything okay?!"

"Hack... mon..." she said weakly.

Tai put his hand on her forehead and withdrew it a short time later. Her forehead glowed really strongly. When did she get a fever? The brown-haired man began to blame himself. He shouldn't have been looking for Hackmon with her. Again, Meiko was a person who didn't show how she was doing.

But then he shook his head. He wasn't allowed to burden himself with that at the moment. He somehow had to organize a roof over her black-haired head for Meiko. So the brown-haired man grabbed his phone and started calling his friends. Luckily, Sora and Biyomon were nearby and were able to carry Meiko to Sora's and her mother's apartment. Once there, the black-haired woman was placed in a bed and covered with a blanket. Matt's girlfriend took a chair and sat on it while Tai knelt on the floor next to the bed. His brown eyes rested on Meiko.

"What exactly... happened?" asked Sora slowly.

"Hackmon is gone," the brown-haired man replied.

His eyes continued to rest on his girlfriend.

"How... why?!" exclaimed Matt's girlfriend, and stood up abruptly.

"Sora..." said Biyomon.

"I don't know," Tai said, sighing heavily.

"Maybe... He's starting to remember who he used to be," the bird digimon suspected as she settled on the ground.

"Do you think so, Biyomon?" was Sora's question, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"I think I'm also starting to remember my previous life," she said.

"Really? Your life before you became Sora's partner?" the brown-haired man said in amazement.

"Yes," Biyomon nodded to him: "I remember a digimon wanting that I should join him. I then challenged him to a competition which I won. But I joined him anyway."

"Who was this digimon?" the brown-haired man asked.

"I don't know," she shook her head briefly.

Suddenly, Sora's phone rang. She pulled it out and saw Izzy's number. Immediately, she accepted the call.

"Izzy?" was her somewhat astonished question.

"Good that I can reach you Sora. I was able to translate all but one line of the old legend," the redhead explained.

He sounded proudly as if he had personally discovered a complicated formula, proved it and won a Nobel Prize for it.

"Really? That's great!," Matt's girlfriend rejoiced: "Wait a moment. I switch to loud. Tai and Biyomon can hear the legend as well."

"Tai is with you?" he sounded a little astonished, but seized himself again.

She skipped the question and instead said:

"I'm switching loudly now."

Izzy himself took a deep breath and opened the file where he had saved the translation of the legend. Then he read aloud:

" _Thirteen knights, once blessed, protected the world._

_Thirteen knights, once proud, fell into an argument._

_Alphamon, the leader, and Omnimon, the second-hand, started it all_

_The eleven knights also clashed._

_Gallantmon, the Pure One, Examon, the Dragon Emperor,_

_Sleipmon, the Fast, Gankoomon, the Helper, Jesmon, the Friendly,_

_Allies with the White._

_UlforceVeedramon, the Courteous, Duftmon, the All-Knowing,_

_Dynasmon, the Righteous, Crusadermon, the Rose, Craniamon, the Faithful,_

_Allies with the Black._

_Oh, you former protector of the world,_

_Now you are divided._

_Evil attacks you,_

_and destroys you._

_Now you are gone,_

_The world will still exist,_

_Even if they lost your protections_"

"Wow... The legend is pretty long.", Tai had to swallow.

"Except for a small piece written in another language..." the redhead became slightly angry and briefly gritted his teeth.

Then he muttered something incomprehensible. It sounded like a curse. A curse on the fact that a specific line was written in another language.

"Hm... So there are really thirteen Royal Knights," Biyomon said.

"And both Omnimon and Jesmon are part of this group," Sora concluded.

"Exactly," Izzy confirmed the words of the two: "I'm still informing the others. See you soon, Tai, Sora and Biyomon."

The redhead ended the phone conversation while Matt's girlfriend and the brown-haired man looked at each other tacitly until the latter leaned on the wall with a sigh.

"Tai?" Sora walked slowly to him.

"Do you think it's my fault..." he quipped.

"With what? How Meiko is doing?"

"Exactly," he nodded briefly.

"It's not your fault."

"She's not Kari!"

"But she is someone who means a lot to you... But it's not your fault that she collapsed, Tai," Matt's girlfriend briefly shook her head before smiling cheerfully at him.

"I know... I just can't bear it when Meiko is doing so badly," he sighed while driving one hand through and sighed again.

"Matt is just like you... You know Tai. We don't want you guys to worry about us like that," she said: "and as for Hackmon. He will be fine... I guess Agumon is already looking for him because he's not with you."

"Together with Gabumon... They'll probably look for him as Omnimon."

"Don't worry. Meiko has you," she tapped him on his chest with her right index finger: "And Hackmon can take care of himself. Don't worry about that."

The brown-haired man remained silent a little before he began to smile slightly.

"Thank you... Sora. I needed an encouragement," he said with a nod of his head.

"That's why we are friends."

"And don't worry about Agumon and Gabumon," Biyomon said, "They are, after all, the Royal Knight Omnimon, just as Hackmon is the Royal Knight Jesmon. They can take care of themselves. That's the most important thing."

"One thing, however, Biyomon," Tai replied, "I never worry about Agumon and Gabumon because they are very strong. I'm just a little worried about Hackmon."

* * *

Hackmon briefly looked into the sky. Several clouds moved over the horizon. He had them back. He had all his memories back from his last life. And with that, the guilt of Meicoomon's death began to weigh even more. If he hadn't used Un Pour Tous at the time, Ophanimon Falldown Mode would not have fused with Raguelmon, creating Ordinemon.

The four-footed dragon sighed heavily. He was to blame, all alone he was. Did he even want to be Meiko's partner? Did he want that after doing something horrible to her and Meicoomon?

Hackmon began to move. He wandered aimlessly through the area until he saw a well-known meadow with blue flowers. For two months he had not seen Tapirmon, Maki Himekawa's partner. He was still picking flowers in the field as if nothing bad had happened. When Maki's partner saw him, he stopped and looked toward the ground. Shortly afterwards, however, he looked up again and smiled uncertainly before going to the four-footed dragon. With a slightly inclined head, Tapirmon patterned it.

"Hey!" he said in his beeping voice.

"Are you alright?" asked Hackmon.

"I've seen you before... before... two months? Two months!"

"Yes, and?"

"Thank you for telling me that Maki is dead. Otherwise, I would have waited forever for her."

"You don't seem to be sad about her death," he said.

"Maki had once said that friends don't hurt each other," he said, going back to the flower meadow, where he began picking flowers again.

The four-footed dragon followed him, but stopped a few meters away from him.

"Friends don't hurt each other..." Hackmon repeated quietly.

"Exactly!" cried Maki's partner, "If you deliberately hurt your friend, you're no longer your friend!"

"I know!" he replied harshly.

Too harsh. Tapirmon was frightened by his tone. When he could catch himself again, he asked him:

"Did something happen?"

"I... I left my partner without telling her anything... In fact… I am to blame for the death of her former partner..."

"I don't know what happened... But..." he briefly took a break and chose his next words: "You're very attached to your partner, don't you?"

"I do... But I blame myself..."

"Don't blame yourself! Does your partner want that?"

The four-footed dragon shook his head. Of course, Meiko didn't want him to blame himself. But that's how he felt.

"And it doesn't help that I've received all my memories from my last life," he said with a sigh.

There was a reminder of how he had talked to Gennai and the Homeostasis after Apocalymon was defeated.

* * *

"_Apocalymon was defeated... The DigiDestined defeated and destroyed him_," Gennai said, his arms entwined in front of his chest.

In his mind, however, he was thinking something else. He lied to Hackmon, which he didn't like at all. He lied to him that he was Alphamon. The Homeostasis wanted it this way, and Gennai himself did not contradict the god. Especially after he had learned how hard it was to deal with a god. He remembered that he had once thought King Drasil ... He never wanted to do it again.

"_Not quite, Gennai_," the Homeostasis replied.

"What do you mean, Homeostasis?" the four-footed dragon asked.

"_A small part of Apocalymon's data ended up in King Drasil's hands_."

"What?!" said Gennai and Hackmon, terrified.

"_It's unfortunately true_." the god sighed heavily: "_Apocalymon's data was put into a digimon... We call this digimon Meicoomon_."

"And what do we do with this digimon now?" was Gennai's question.

"_One of you is going to overview it_..." decided the Homeostasis.

"And who?" asked the four-footed dragon.

"_I'd take you, Hackmon_," the God replied.

"Me? But-!"

"_I know... You should soon get a human partner... But the harmony and stability are coming first, Hackmon_."

Hackmon gritted his teeth. Actually, he would soon have got a partner, because it was his most wanted wish. He had seen the extent of the power of the connection between digimon and humans. He wanted to be part of that power. He wanted to be stronger and no longer be alone.

"And who will become Meicoomon's partner?" asked Gennai, as if he had already guessed the Homeostasis's next steps.

"_Hackmon's intended partner... Meiko Mochizuki_." said the God.

"What?! I don't agree with this!" the four-footed dragon exclaimed angrily: "Meiko would never be able to control Meicoomon!"

"_Hackmon!_" the Homeostasis interrupted him: "_What is your job_?"

"Keeping harmony and stability." he replied.

"_Exactly. For the good of all, you have to set aside your own needs_."

"I know," Hackmon said.

In front of him appeared a distortion, in which dived and then landed at Meiko. He himself was on the roof of the house Mochizuki. It was just noon and so the four-footed dragon could watch the black-haired girl and Meicoomon play together. Meiko herself just laughed happily when her partner accidentally stumbled into a pile of foliage. Then the cat digimon came out of the pile and laughed cheerfully as well. Meanwhile, Hackmon gritted his teeth as three claws dug into the roof. He was jealous of Meicoomon. It had been his place. It had been his place as Meiko's partner... Now he had been told to take care of the cat-digimon. The four-footed dragon felt Gennai settle down behind him.

"The two of them get along very well," the man remarked.

"They do," he replied coolly.

"Let me advise Hackmon... You're jealous of Meicoomon because she took away your place as Meiko's partner, right?"

"Yes."

"Listen. The Homeostasis makes decisions which we follow... It's almighty."

"You are just a being created by it. You can never understand the complexity of feelings."

"And? You are also a being created by the Homeostasis, or am I wrong?" Gennai briefly tilted his head to the side.

"We're separating a good 10,000-year age difference, Gennai."

"Didn't you also say that age difference is worthless for you?"

"Doesn't matter. If you have nothing else to do, then go back to the digital world. I have to do my job."

"Of course," the man got up and turned around.

"By the way, Gennai."

"Yes?"

"You changed slightly... I don't like this change."

"But I'm fine."

"Really?" he turned to him sceptically and looked at him in detail.

"Really, really," he assured him, before disappearing into a distortion.

/I like this Gennai guy less and less./, thought the four-footed dragon: /He behaves really funny./

With these thoughts Hackmon continued to observe Meiko and Meicoomon, while the flame of jealousy burned in him. But he didn't let it be noted.

* * *

"You should go back..." said Tapirmon, ripping the four-footed dragon out of his thoughts.

"Going back?" he asked, astonished.

"Yes. To your partner. She's certainly worried about you."

"No. I will stay in the digital world for a while..."

"Listen! You have to think of others, not just always you."

"I always think of others!" he yelled at him: "That's why I'm doing this one-off now. It's also my fault... all alone mine."

"Your fault?" repeated Tapirmon.

"Yes," he closed his eyes and sighed before moving.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Somewhere. The main thing is where I don't meet anyone. I need time for myself, that's all."

Hackmon began to run and move away from Maki's partner.


	30. Chapter 30 - Omnimon

Chapter 30 – Omnimon

There was a pretty strong wind blowing, so that Omnimon's cape blew almost horizontally with the force of nature. His steps were long and hardly a digimon in the area dared to even approach him. They all felt the power of the fused Digimon. A force far more powerful than they could have imagined. A force of immense power.

Omnimon's sapphire-blue eyes always looked forward. He had indirectly promised Tai that he would find Hackmon... But he had disappeared without a trace. How should he find him in these circumstances?

The fused Digimon did not notice how he got to a village he was familiar with. Primary Village, where Digimon were reborn. Suddenly someone rushed past him, turned and landed right in front of him. The red-scaled dragon briefly whipped his long tail on the ground before he began to growl quietly and flare his teeth. Nevertheless, he did not act, which is why both Digimon looked at each other tacitly, before the dragon slowly asked with his deep voice:

"Omnimon? Is that you?"

He sounded astonished, while the Digimon mentioned did not fully understand the situation. Why did the foreign Digimon threaten him before he recognized him?

"Yes?" Omnimon replied suspiciously, eyeing the dragon.

The dragon was a little bit familiar…

"You really are!" the stranger Digimon exclaimed with delight: "Do you remember?"

"Who are you?" asked Omnimon, still suspicious.

"It's me... Examon, the Dragon Emperor, former Royal Knight."

"Ah!" he said: "Sorry I didn't recognize you right away."

"It's okay. Duftmon didn't recognize me either when I once flew over the village looking for old comrades," Examon explained.

"Duftmon... You mean Elecmon."

"Exactly.", the dragon nodded: "Duftmon himself then attacked me."

"Doesn't sound that pleasant."

"It wasn't... and since I had not recognized him, we had a pretty fierce fight."

Examon had to laugh slightly at the memory before he flapped his wings and said:

"We fly elsewhere. Otherwise the babies will be scared."

"Agreed," Omnimon nodded to him and followed the dragon into the air.

Both flew to a cliff. Examon flapped his wings a few times before landing, while the fused Digimon put his feet on the stone without much effort. When he turned around, he saw Primary Village a little distant.

"The sight is stunning, isn't it?" the red-scaled dragon said.

"Yes.", Omnimon sat down and looked at the village: "How did you solve the little dispute?"

"I fled because I didn't necessarily want to fight. But Duftmon followed me furiously, so we continued to fight."

"For how long?" asked the fused Digimon.

He was glad that he had found more Royal Knights and he secretly tried to win both, Examon and Duftmon, for the Homeostasis. If he were to do this, seven Royal Knights, the majority, would work for the god, which would offer a great advantage against King Drasil.

Again, a Royal Knight was still not awakened, and Omnimon did not know who exactly that knight was.

"Hm... How long did the fight last?" the red-scaled dragon pondered aloud: "Sorry, I don't know anymore."

"Okay," the fused Digimon waved off slightly.

Examon suddenly began to growl. He saw in the distance three unknown Digimon approaching Primary Village. The red-scaled dragon straightened up and flapped with its four wings.

"What's going on?" asked Omnimon.

"Foreigners. Three perfect-level Digimon. An AeroVeedramon and a Mephistomon. I don't know the last Digimon."

The white knight looked into the distance and saw the three perfect-level Digimon. One of them could not possibly recognize Examon. It was a MegaSeadramon. As far as Omnimon could remember, the red-scaled dragon had never seen a MegaSeadramon. This species mostly digivolved from a normal Seadramon.

"This is a MegaSeadramon," the fused Digimon calmly declared as he pulled out the Grey Sword from his armguard.

"Good.", Examon nodded: "I take care of the Mephistomon and the MegaSeadramon... You'll go for the AeroVeedramon."

"Agreed."

Both Digimon flew to the invaders. Omnimon immediately attacked the AeroVeedramon, which growled furiously. When it wanted to shoot a load of energy at him, the fused Digimon split the energy accumulation with his sword and almost at the same moment kicked the attacker in the stomach. He was thrown several metres away before he got up again.

"Get lost!" Omnimon raved to him: "Otherwise I will show no mercy! You can rely on my word as a Royal Knight!"

The AeroVeedramon ran towards him, but the white knight brought him down with his Garuru gauntlet. Then he rammed his sword into him, so that he dissolved into data. Omnimon looked at Examon, who had just grabbed the MegaSeadramon by the tail and hurled it against the Mephistomon.

The fused Digimon rushed to the red-scaled dragon to help him fight. Examon let his long tail dropped down on the sea snake. But he was able to dodge the attack and fired a lightning bolt at his opponent. Examon's wings moved to protect him, as the outside was protected with Chrome Digizoid scales. As the lightning bounced off the shed, MegaSeadramon snaked towards the red-scaled dragon. However, in the next moment it was grabbed by a wave of energy and hurled against a tree. Examon looked over his shoulder and recognized Duftmon.

He wore brown armour, with the chest area covered by a white plate that was firmly integrated into the brown armour. The white plate ended with a white hip guard. A red band separated the hip protection and the plate on the abdomen and was knotted on the back, so that the band ended in two pieces of fabric. White plates also protect the thighs, while the knees were protected from injury by silver schooners decorated with engravings. The feet of the Digimon had a resounding edge, although it was very dull.  
Shortly after the shoulder plates there was a ring of silver metal with several blue spines, which served no purpose. The elbows were also protected with silver plates, while the Digimon held a long sword in his right hand.  
This was a rapier, fast in handling, but relatively weak and not powerful. On the shoulders of the digimon were a few white-feathered wings, which he used for flying. A brown lion-like mask covered the Digimon's head. This mask had red eyes. Underneath, the Digimon wore another blue mask that revealed his actual green eyes.  
The Digimon looked relatively sublime. However, the long, blonde mane and narrow tail, which ended in a blond, fluffy-looking ball, made its figure look ridiculous.

Duftmon's eyes looked angrily at the sea snake, which made a faint noise before it also smashed into data. The last intruder looked at the three Digimon and growled.

"You dared to attack this village!" the leopard-knight growled angrily: "That's why you're going to pay for your life!"

He placed his silver rapier vertically in front of his body, while his left hand rested on the wide side.

"Stop!" Examon stepped in and stood in front of the leopard knight.

"You know very well that we have to destroy all intruders," Duftmon raved.

"I know," he closed his eyes briefly, breathing deeply: "I want to ask him why he did it."

"Why?"

"Maybe he works under King Drasil's command or even among our comrades."

"Good. I understand.", the leopard knight approached the Mephistomon: "Do you work for King Drasil?"

"No," Digimon replied.

"Why did you attack Primary Village together with the MegaSeadramon and the AeroVeedramon?" asked Omnimon.

The Mephistomon remained silent, while amusement was reflected in his eyes.

"Answer him!" Duftmon growled angrily.

The said Digimon laughed darkly:

"Do you really think I work for King Drasil?!"

"What?" said Examon, somewhat astonished.

"My Lord is more powerful than King Drasil or anyone else! He will envelop the digital world... no he envelop the two worlds in eternal darkness. King Drasil himself is just a pawn for him!" he laughed, before creating a ball of dark energy in his right hand.

Then Mephistomon rammed this sphere into his chest, causing him to die like his two comrades.

The leopard knight remained silent and suppressed an emerging curse that he wanted to say.

"What exactly did he mean by that?" the red-scaled dragon asked uncertainly.

In him grew an uneasy feeling as he looked nervously at Omnimon.

"Who knows," he replied.

"He was just plain crazy," Duftmon said: "King Drasil a pawn! Tch. King Drasil is powerful. No one could treat him as his pawn."

"The Homeostasis is also powerful... I'm just worried about the words..." said the fused Digimon.

"That both worlds are shrouded in eternal darkness?" was Examon's question.

"Everything the Mephistomon had said," Omnimon said.

"Don't worry about that," the leopard knight played down the situation: "The Mephistomon was just plain crazy."

"I hope you're right, Duftmon," the white knight sighed, closing his eyes.

There was a long pause for silence until Examon spoke again:

"What are you doing here, Omnimon?"

"I'm looking for Hackmon," the fused Digimon said.

"Hackmon? Wasn't he the student of Gankoomon?" said the red-scaled dragon.

"Yes... He's gone."

"I'm sorry for his partner," Duftmon said.

"Well. Did you see him?" was Omnimon's question.

"No.", the leopard knight shook his head: "Have you seen him?"

"Unfortunately, no," Examon replied.

"I see…" Digimon sighed heavily: "Then I'll keep looking for him."

The white knight wanted to go with it, but he found the claw of the great dragon on his shoulder.

"Wait. Is the Homeostasis looking for us?" Examon asked.

"Yes," Omnimon said.

"Tell it that we will not accept its offer," said the leopard knight: "King Drasil... the Homeostasis... No matter which god rules the digital world. We don't care."

"We just want to protect Primary Village" added the red-scaled dragon.

"Why?" was the question of the white knight: "Especially you both would help one party. You, Examon, have a great fighting power... and you, Duftmon, are the best strategist among us Royal Knights."

"That's why we remain neutral," Duftmon said.

"We have a job here, Omnimon. Even if we chose a party, we couldn't leave the village alone," Examon replied calmly.

Nevertheless, Omnimon heard some regret from his voice.

"It's your decision. I was just hoping that you could support the Homeostasis. But if you have a task here, it's okay," the fused Digimon flew into the air and disappeared between the clouds while the other two Royal Knights looked at each other tacitly.

* * *

It took a while for Omnimon to land again. This time he was on a parched landscape. No tree or shrub stood. It was just a wide level. A little further away was a bare mountain. The fused Digimon recognized the area. Here he fought against Alphamon and Raguelmon. After the black knight had drawn his OwRyuken had, all the partners except him were defeated. Together with Jesmon, he had continued the fight, although the two had fought each other first, as the sword digimon wanted to kill Meiko's partner. For this he had grabbed her in the real world and dragged her into the digital world.

But Jesmon did not expect the white knight to cause a distortion, so that he, the DigiDestined and their partners could follow them. Then a fight broke out until Alphamon intervened.

After the Sword-Digimon unleashed a powerful attack, the ground became brittle and Tai and Daigo were swallowed by the earth masses. Luckily, Omnimon himself was able to protect Matt and Meiko, but the supposed death of her brother infected Kari with a virus, which then spread to her partner, Nyaromon, while Omnimon had just split into Tsunomon and Koromon. Nyaromon herself digivolved straight to Ophanimon Falldown Mode and fused with Raguelmon to Ordinemon. Then the white angel with eerie size disappeared into the real world.

The white knight shook his head. He didn't like to remember this fight. Omnimon looked into the air and sighed.

"I wonder what Alphamon is doing right now," he pondered aloud.

Although the fused Digimon knew that Alphamon could not be saved, he wondered about the well-being of him. Maybe it was because of his memories. He remembered how he had fought side by side with the black knight. How they had supported each other and how they sometimes settled together on a cliff in the evening just to chat about any topics. He missed those times a little bit.

Again, he sighed and closed his eyes. With a shake of his head, he dispelled these thoughts and looked over his shoulder. He should continue his search for Hackmon. Meiko relied on him.

Omnimon continued with slow steps. It wasn't long before the white knight saw something red and white. It was Hackmon. He himself looked into the sky and was deeply immersed in his thoughts. He probably thought of the events he had experienced here.

"Hackmon," said the fused Digimon, and stepped to him.

The four-footed dragon turned around before looking forward and sighing.

"I want to be alone," Meiko's partner said.

"Why? Do you know how much Meiko is worried about you?"

"I know… But... do I have the right to be her partner?

"What?"

"I was, after all, the one who almost killed her... and now look at me. I am her partner... Do I have any right to be her partner?" asked Hackmon.

"I don't know if you have a right to be her partner, but..." Omnimon paused briefly: "Do you want to be her partner?

"I... don't know. I was supposed to be her partner, but... Meicoomon appeared."

"I see... If Meicoomon hadn't been-"

"Then I would be far happier than I am now," he dug his front, dark blue claws into the ground: "I hated Meicoomon! There was no one I hated more than her! She had taken my partner away from me! That's what I thought when I first saw Meicoomon. But Meiko was so happy with her. That's why I never said anything and hid my feelings. The former, honest Hackmon no longer exists. The Hackmon, who had talked about his problems in a moment, he does not exist. I'm just a shadow of my former self."

"Hackmon..."

"Don't be compelled. Just laugh."

'I'm never going to laugh at someone who doesn't deserve it. You are still very good-natured."

"..."

"So stop reproaching yourself and come back to-"

"OMNIMON, WATCH OUT!," Hackmon suddenly shouted.

The white knight jumped to the side as a blade slammed onto the ground, causing an explosion. The four-footed dragon was thrown several metres through the air and landed the ground. Omnimon himself fired an energy beam at the attacker, who dodged.

"Alphamon!" growled the fused Digimon.

The black knight looked at him before rushing to him. Just like that Omnimon was able to pull out his Grey Sword and block off OwRyuken. Hackmon himself hurried away. He couldn't do anything. Even if he could digivolve to his perfect-level, he wouldn't stand a chance against Alphamon. So he had no choice but to observe the battle of the two Royal Knights.

The fused Digimon turned to the side so his opponent could not hit him with a green laser. Just as Alphamon was about to attack Omnimon with his weapon, he opened his two heads on his arms and covered the black knight's wrists.

"Alphamon..." the white knight said, looking at him: "Stop. I don't want to fight you."

Alphamon just growled furiously and tried to free himself.

"Fight against Piedmon's ball." Omnimon continued: "You never gave up so easily. I don't want to hurt you, let alone kill you. Fight it, I know you can do it!"

"What do you know about me?!" the black knight exclaimed angrily: "Do you have any idea what it meant to lose everything?! You have died and now you stand in front of me and try to persuade me to turn my back on King Drasil?! That's funny! Since when do you take care of others, Omnimon?!"

The fused Digimon remained silent. In his eyes was an expression of regret and sadness. But he quickly regrouped and replied:

"Alphamon. You know me. I would never let anyone down."

"Well. I doubt that. Where were you when I needed you the most?!"

"What?!" his eyes widened.

"Where were you when the Royal Knights were almost completely destroyed?! You were dead. I would have needed your support, but you weren't there!"

"Alphamon... I..." he turned his gaze away.

Alphamon laughed briefly before freeing his right arm from Omnimon's grip and firing a green laser at the fused Digimon's chest. The white knight's eyes widened as his body threatened to hit the ground. But he managed to make a somersault. Then he flew into the air and fired a blue energy laser at the black knight. He split the laser with his OwRyuken before Alphamon followed him into the air. Again their blades crossed and both tried to direct the pressure of the blows and the accumulated energy on the opponent.

"Alphamon, hear me out..." Omnimon quipped between breaths: "I would... never ... betray... you..."

"Empty words," he replied.

"It... is not true..."

"Where were you... then... I needed you... the most?! You were... dead. And now... you have... allied... with the... DigiDestined… in order to… overthrow…King Drasil..."

"King Drasil... manipulates... you..."

"What do you know?!" Alphamon yelled at him and hit him with his knee in the stomach.

The white knight lost his footing before seeing his former friend's blade. It hurled him towards the ground. With a loud bang, Omnimon hit the ground and was left lying. The black knight raced after him and placed his left foot on the chest of the fused Digimon.

He quickly dropped off, knelt down and placed his right hand on Omnimon's chest. Green energy accumulated in Alphamon's palm. The white knight was preparing for a painful laser, but nothing else happened.

"So," said the black knight, grabbing Omnimon by the collar, putting him on his feet: "You're coming with me now."

"What?!" he roared as he felt his consciousness lose.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. Not yet."

The fused Digimon eventually lost consciousness. Alphamon laughed briefly before noticing Hackmon. He let go of Omnimon's collar and stepped to the four-footed dragon, who looked at him with angry yet with courageous eyes.

"How are you, Hackmon?" the black knight asked.

"What did you do with Omnimon, Alphamon?!" Hackmon growled angrily.

"I implemented a virus that prevents that he defused."

"What?!" his eyes widened and he looked at him stunned.

"He will lose his strength more and more and die at some point if he does not join King Drasil. I could implement a similar virus to you, Hackie."

"Don't you dare!"

"But..." he stretched out his left hand and pointed the inside surface on the four-footed dragon: "I will kill you now."

A green laser raced toward Hackmon. He snarled before disappearing through a distortion. Alphamon looked at where the four-footed dragon was before turning back to the unconscious Omnimon.

* * *

Meiko didn't know where she was at first. There was thick fog all around her. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her eyes. Suddenly a digimon appeared in front of her.

"Meicoomon!" shouted the black-haired woman.

Meicoomon had an orange coat with several black stripes and a bright belly. The tail and the two sashes that hung down from his neck also had this colour stroke. Meicoomon had a kind of mane around his neck, so you couldn't see the approach of the two sashes. Her eyes were green and showed an X as an iris, while her two ears listened pointedly to the surroundings. On the forehead of the creature was a black M, while her mouth area was also bright. Meicoomon's paws were white, but at the front of the pair she had a blue hexagon on both sides.

The cat digimon turned around and ran away. Meiko followed her, but the faster she ran, the further away Meicoomon was from her.

" Meicoomon! Please, stay! Meicoomon!" she screamed uninterruptedly.

At one point, the black-haired woman stopped when she saw that there was no point in following her former partner.

Meicoomon ran further away from her and soon disappeared in the fog. Meiko remained silent before breaking down in tears. In the distance, another digimon fed. It was Meicoomon again, but she was digivolved to her perfect-level.

Her coat colour was now a light reddish brown with several purple lines crossed. They sat on her torso as well as on her arms, legs and face. The eyes were now red with a white, x-shaped iris, while the mouth had a bright hue. On her head sat wild-looking hair and pointed ears. The mane of Meicrackmon Vicious Mode looked very wild, but you couldn't see the approach of the two sashes hanging down from the neck.  
The chest had a light coat. Her legs were now strong, so she had an upright gait. The back of the lower legs was almost white, while the front was equipped with lines and three reddish-brown claws by a dark purple protector. She also had these plates on her thighs up to the waist, as well as on her shoulders and forearms. The protectors on the forearms, however, looked a little different. They also featured yellow lines and a blue hexagon, as well as three red-brown claws that Meicrackmon Vicious Mode could move independently. Beneath this plate hid a hand with five fingers and black claws. This hand was preserved in a light hue. Her tail was now more pronounced than at her champion level and had a black tip at the end with which she could stand.

"Dan-dan!" screamed Meicrackmon, pulling out.

Meiko closed her eyes. Then she called:

"Meicoomon!"

* * *

"Meicoomon!" Meiko screamed as her eyes shot open.

Astonished, she saw something bright yellow near her.

"Meiko," said a voice right next to her.

She knew the voice all too well. Her hand searched for her glasses. She got hold of them and put on the visual aid. Next to her stood Hackmon, who looked at her with guilt-laden eyes.

"Hackmon!" she cried, hugging him happily: "Where were you? I've been so worried about you.'

"I'm sorry... I had to be alone," he looked to the side as his partner broke free from the hug.

"Why?" asked Meiko uncertainly.

"I..." the four-footed dragon took a deep breath: "I have received all my memories from my previous lives."

"What?" her eyes widened with horror.

Did he remember that he once oversaw Meicoomon?

"I should have killed Meicoomon much earlier," he began, "then she and you would have been spared a lot of suffering."

"What do you mean?"

"I have watched you every day. One day Meicoomon got lost in the forest and I followed her. I could have killed her there. Then it would never have happened that she became Ordinemon. Then I might have been able to take my place with joy."

"Your place?" the black-haired woman repeated uncertainly.

What exactly did he mean by that?

"Meiko, I was supposed to be your partner. But when Meicoomon was created, the Homeostasis sent her to you. It was hopeful that you could suppress Apocalymon's data."

"W-wait a minute! I was originally supposed to be your partner?!"

"Yes. Back then, when I was working even more closely for the Homeostasis than I do now, I fell into a deep depression. I was alone with this task. At the time I didn't know that Gennai was Alphamon, so I was always alone. The Homeostasis saw my sadness and loneliness and decided that I should go to a human who would encourage me."

"And that human was me?" the black-haired woman asked.

She still couldn't believe Hackmon should have become her partner.

"Exactly. The fact that I watched Meicoomon was only related to the fact that I was to become your partner. Nothing more. I didn't want to do that job. But when I saw how happy you were with Meicoomon and although I was very jealous of her, I fulfilled this task to the bitter end."

"Hackmon..."

"If you don't want to be my partner anymore, I can understand. I... would be ready to leave you alone again, so that you will not be drawn further into the struggles between the Homeostasis and King Drasil."

"What are you talking about, Hackmon?" she hugged him again: "I'm your partner. It was only because of you that I could cope with Meicoomon's death. I've told you before. Don't blame yourself too much, Hackmon."

"I know," he closed his eyes.

"I'm glad you're my partner. Never think I'm not happy about it."

"Thank you, Meiko... I'm sorry that I've been leaving without telling you anything."

"It's okay. But please let me know next time."

"Understood."


	31. Chapter 31 - Despair

Chapter 31 – Despair

Matt, like his friends, was speechless by the news. He had to swallow heavily and looked at Hackmon again. He had informed everyone in Izzy's study of Omnimon's abduction. Also, the four-footed dragon announced that he was supposed to be Meiko's partner, but could not be through Meicoomon. Wanyamon himself growled furiously.

"Great… This is just great," the in-training digimon raved: "Now we have also lost the best fighting power and our trump card against King Drasil and his Royal Knights... What's next?!"

"Wanyamon..." Sera said depressed.

"What is it?!"

"You don't help us," Shin replied tensely.

"We know what happened. Don't you think we're making accusations?!" Matt yelled at him.

Wanyamon remained silent and looked away. Why did he have to be here? He would much rather continue his search for Akira.

"Okay, okay... Don't shout at me because your partner has been kidnapped," Wanyamon growled.

"What are we doing now?" asked Sora uncertainly.

"I don't know," Mimi sighed.

"We need to find out where Agumon, Gabumon and Akira are right now," Tentomon said, starting to think.

"And where should we look for them? We have no idea where they are," Joe said depressed.

"Probably in the digital world," Gomamon replied.

"What makes you so sure, Gomamon?" was Armadillomon's question.

"It is most likely." T.K. replied.

"Exactly!" Patamon agreed.

"And where exactly?" asked Ken.

"We don't know," Kari said, depressed.

"But we will find them," Gatomon encouraged the DigiDestined.

"But there's still a problem," Veemon said thoughtfully.

"And this problem is?" asked Davis.

"We would have to fight Alphamon and the enemy Royal Knights," Hackmon said.

"How many are there?" was Meiko's question.

"In addition to Alphamon, we would have... Crusadermon, UlforceVeedramon, Craniamon and Gankoomon... I don't know if Examon or Duftmon are with them..." the four-footed dragon sighed.

"So at least five Royal Knights," Tai said depressed.

He wanted to free Omnimon and Akira from King Drasil's clutches as soon as possible. But he couldn't do anything.

"When it comes up... seven," Yolei replied, swallowing heavily.

"But on our side we still have Gallantmon and Sleipmon..." said Cody optimistically.

Wanyamon looked at the boy angrily.

"And Dynasmon..." the youngest among them added.

"Just three," Wormmon sighed.

"But we don't know if Examon and Duftmon are on King Drasil's side," Biyomon said.

"Despite this... Knowing that we are dealing with five Royal Knights scares me," Palmon nervously looked at her partner, who was rather pale in her face.

"So the question is how many ultimate-level Digimon we need to defeat a Royal Knight," Hawkmon flapped with his wings.

"I guess at least four," Izzy said, closing his eyes.

"Three to five... depending on who you are dealing with. For example, if we want to defeat Craniamon, we would need Digimon that have strong attacks. Craniamon himself is focused on defence," Hackmon said.

"And what about the others?" asked Tai.

"UlforceVeedramon is very fast. Gankoomon can destroy a rock with a single blow. Crusadermon always attacks from blind spots. And Alphamon can travel back in time..." the four-footed dragon continued.

"What about Examon and Duftmon?" was Yolei's question before biting her lower lip.

"Examon has a tremendous destructive power." Wanyamon said: "Everything he wants to destroy, he can destroy... Duftmon's strategies almost never fail..."

"If the two are on King Drasil's side, then we really have a problem," Joe said thoughtfully.

"To what extent?" asked Gomamon.

"Because then more than half of the Royal Knights are on King Drasil's side," Shin sighed, gently stroking Sera over her right upper arm, noting that she was getting more and more tense.

Akira's older sister looked at Mr. Kawa tacitly before leaning on him.

"I'm worried about Akira," Sera whispered depressed.

"I know... But how can we..." he broke off and looked to the ground.

"We can at least be glad that Gallantmon and Sleipmon are on our side," Tentomon said.

"Definitely!" Palmon agreed.

"But we only have three Royal Knights right now... against what, seven?" said Kari.

"That's what it looks like," Cody said.

"And six ultimate-level Digimon and four perfect-level Digimon," Wormmon added.

"So our chances are not that bad!" cried Armadillomon.

"Our chances are bad," Matt said, contradicting: "How strong are these Royal Knights? Should I remind you that Alphamon had defeated all but Omnimon in the fight against Raguelmon?!"

"Matt... Calm down... There's no point in getting upset," Sora said.

"She's right, Matt... You have to calm down," Ken said, breathing deeply: "If you don't calm down, you can't have a clear thought."

"I think there's someone who's won chess a lot," Davis smiled, pulling him up.

"We're not up for jokes right now, Davis," Patamon said dryly.

"Thank you, Patamon..." replied T.K.: "That's what I wanted to say."

"Are we not going to take a sly turn now?" asked Mimi.

"Yes," Hawkmon replied.

"So... Summarized. Too many Royal Knights are working for King Drasil, we still don't know where Omnimon and Akira are... and there would be another problem." Gatomon said to Veemon.

"He can't digivolve normally anymore," Biyomon sighed.

"Why? I keep wondering!" Veemon exclaimed angrily, growling softly: "Why can I only do armour-digivolution. They are, by the way, weaker than an adult-level Digimon!"

"Hm... Maybe you're collecting energy... for a warp digivolution to the ultimate-level.", Izzy suspected: "That should be the reason why you can no longer digivolve normally."

"Are you sure?" the blue dragon said uncertainly.

"It's just a guess," the redhead pondered.

"Is... it's my fault?" asked Meiko suddenly.

"What?!" Tai said, terrified.

"Is it my fault because of the crisis?"

"Meiko!" Hackmon exclaimed angrily: "What did you tell me?! I shouldn't blame myself too much! But you're doing exactly the same thing right now!"

"Don't think about it," her boyfriend admonished her.

"Sorry..." she replied, "I think it's because of me that we're in such a situation..."

"Veemon can't digivolve normally," Davis said depressed, "And we're even more useless than you..."

"Davis!" Tai stood up and stood in front of him: "That doesn't help!"

His figure seemed somehow threatening.

"Right. The situation is also very close to me..." the red-brown-haired man raved: "Sorry, Meiko."

"It's okay... I just always tend to blame myself," the black-haired woman replied.

"Stop it, you two!" growled Veemon.

"I... I just hope Omnimon and Akira are doing well," Meiko said.

"Everyone here hopes so," Hackmon said.

The DigiDestined and their partner talked for a while until they all separated. Tai, Meiko, Hackmon, Kari and Gatomon went together to the Yagamis' apartment. As the group crossed a street, the cat-digimon's gaze fell on Kari, who quietly walked behind her brother and Meiko. Kari watched the two of them laughing slightly. She bit her lower lip and pointed her eyes to the ground.

"Kari?" asked Gatomon, who had noticed something was wrong with her.

"Why?" her gaze turned to the cat digimon.

"Are you doing well?"

"I don't understand... Why do Tai and Meiko talk so relaxed with each other when he said we should kill Meicoomon. I don't understand how Meiko could forgive him."

"I think Meiko has long forgiven him."

"What makes you so safe?"

"She knew that Meicoomon was only suffering... That is why she wished to be redeemed from her suffering. She didn't care how it happened."

"Maybe you're right."

"I'm right," Gatomon smiled.

"But why does she forgive Hackmon or Jesmon? He was the one who used this attack." she said thoughtfully as her eyes moved back to Tai.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

"And something else," said Tai's younger sister: "I don't understand why they fell in love."

"I can't explain that... But they look very happy."

"But how could they fall in love with each other?"

"As I said, I don't know, Kari."

Hackmon took a quick look at the two before immersing in his thoughts. He wondered if he could have prevented Omnimon's abduction if he had been able to digivolve to his ultimate-level. However, there was this virus which he hadn't told anyone about it. He didn't want the others to worry about this and put them needlessly under more pressure.

"Hackmon?" asked Meiko.

"Huh?" his gaze wandered to the black-haired woman.

"Tai asked you something."

"Sorry. I was immersed in my thoughts."

"It's okay," she smiled.

"So Tai, what did you ask?"

"Why did Alphamon kidnap Omnimon?" was Tai's question.

"I... I suspect he did this to harm us," Hackmon said.

"How exactly?" asked Gatomon, who looked interested at Meiko's partner digimon.

"Omnimon is very strong. I suspect that Alphamon will soon launch an attack on us. The only ones who would have Alphamon's fighting strength would be," the four-footed dragon began, but was interrupted.

"Wanyamon or Dynasmon, Gallantmon and Sleipmon," Kari said quietly.

"Two of them act independently of us," the brown-haired man continued.

"That's why we need to be extra careful now," Hackmon raved: "Especially Davis and his friends. Their partner can't digivolve to the ultimate-level, which is why they're an ideal target."

"And what are we doing now?" asked Meiko.

"I don't know, Meiko," the four-footed dragon quipped.

"We should kill Alphamon," Tai's sister suddenly replied.

Tai was terrified. Normally, his sister would never say or even think anything like that. She loved life above all else.

"Kari?!" the brown-haired man said, terrified.

"Alphamon is to blame for everything, isn't he?" Kari clenched her hands to fists.

"What?" the black-haired woman approached her and wanted to put her hand on her shoulder.

But she backed down. Gatomon looked at her with concern.

"Alphamon is Gennai. After the reboot he had driven Meicoomon mad, he had kidnapped Davis, Cody, Yolei and Ken, he was the one who had restarted King Drasil up again, he-"

"Kari!" the cat digimon exclaimed: "Stop. You're going crazy."

"What's it then?!" she yelled, "Am I crazy now, Gatomon?!"

"Kari!" Tai admonished her: "Why are you so aggressive?"

"Because... I don't understand how Meiko could fall in love with you." she explained quietly.

"That..." he looked at her with his eyes wide open.

"I forgave him for killing Meicoomon. It had been salvation for her," said Meiko: "She only suffered and was very grateful when she was freed from her suffering. For Meicoomon... there was no other way than death. That is why I forgive you."

Kari remained silent and looked to the ground as she bit her lower lip.

"Meicoomon..." Tai's younger sister sighed and turned her gaze back to the black-haired woman: "Now I understand why you fell in love with my brother. He gives you support."

"I-I wouldn't... say it… that way," Meiko replied hesitantly.

"Watch out for him," Kari smiled, walking past her brother, Hackmon, and the black-haired woman at a rapid pace, before standing a few feet away: "However, I will never forgive you, Tai, for killing Meicoomon."

Tai's sister rushed away.

"Kari!" shouted Gatomon, following her.

The brown-haired man sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes.

"She never forgives you, doesn't she?" said Meiko.

"Probably..." sighed Tai.

"Don't worry about it. Your sister likes you and at some point she will forgive you," Hackmon said.

"I hope so," the brown-haired man replied.

"Hope not, believe." the four-footed dragon jumped on a stone: "That was always said by my master. Don't hope you become a Royal Knight, believe you'll be one."

Tai smiled slightly before looking into the sky. He thought of Omnimon, who was somewhere in the digital world. Kidnapped, in an unknown place. There was a crushing silence. Only the birds could be heard, which chirped cheerfully in the branches.

"You're worried about Omnimon, aren't you?" suggested Meiko, breaking the silence.

"Yes... He's my partner, after all," the brown-haired man replied, closing his eyes.

"He won't be subdued," Hackmon said, "he'll never work with King Drasil."

"I know."

"Tai.", Meiko took his hands in her: "We will make it. We will defeat King Drasil, Alphamon and his Royal Knights and free Omnimon and Akira."

Tai smiled at her and put his hand on her head. Then he gently stroked over it.

* * *

Akira opened her eyes as she heard something approaching. Probably it was Crusadermon again who liked to taunt her… But the footsteps sounded heavier, so it couldn't be the pink knight. Eventually, the Digimon was revealed. It was Alphamon who pulled another Digimon behind him. Akira's eyes widened. The Digimon was none other than Omnimon. She quickly noticed that he was unconscious.

"What did you do with him?!" she demanded an answer.

The black knight looked up at her briefly before throwing the fused Digimon to the ground in front of him. Alphamon knelt down and touched the ground before a similarly transparent bubble formed around Omnimon.

"I implemented a virus for him that prevents him from defusing himself... It will make quite an effort to preserve his form. At some point, the effort will be so great that he will die. However, he has a way to escape from the situation... If he joins King Drasil, I will rid him of the virus," the black knight said.

"Do you really think he's going to do that?!" she yelled at him.

Alphamon flew up to her and grabbed her with his hand before pulling her out of the bubble.

"You know exactly where your place is," he threatened, "I'd love to squeeze you."

She remained silent and closed her eyes. She had no choice. When she reopened her eyelids, she asked:

"Why is Omnimon in the same room as me?!"

"Because of company. It's boring to be alone, isn't it? Moreover, King Drasil had ordered me to do so.", the black knight put Akira back in the bubble and disappeared.

Sera's younger sister pulled her legs on her body and began to doze in front of her. After just over an hour, she heard slightly snarling noises. Akira looked down and realized that Omnimon was awake. He moaned several times. His entire body felt like it was made of concrete. The fused Digimon could say that he was not doing well. Omnimon straightened up and sat down. At least he wanted that. But his body did not want to obey him.

"Are you alright?" Akira asked him.

"My body... it feels... so... heavy...", he quipped.

"This must be this virus... Alphamon has implemented it in you," she explained.

"What does... this virus...?"

"It prevents you from defusing..."

The white knight remained silent and growled several times.

"Say... How is... Wanyamon?" was her question.

"As far as I... know... he is... well..."

"And my sister? How is she?"

"That... I don't... know."

"I'm just worried about her..."

"Understandable... I am... also... worried about... Tai... and... Matt..." he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

It was a strange feeling. His body didn't really hurt him, but he felt incredibly exhausted. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard again. Akira has since been able to distinguish between Alphamon and Crusadermon. This time, however, it was someone else. UlforceVeedramon appeared within a short time, looking briefly at Omnimon.

"Can you tell me how strong your friends are?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?!" she quipped at him.

"I don't want to fight against you guys... But I have to."

"You..." the white knight panted.

"So... How strong are your friends?"

"You think I'll tell you this!" Akira exclaimed angrily: "You have nerves!"

"I don't want all of this," said the blue knight, looking to the ground: "How can I prove to you that I don't want this?"

"Why exactly... do you want to... to fight against... King Drasil...?" asked Omnimon.

"Because I can't take it more. Fight against my comrades... Why? Aren't we all Royal Knights? Shouldn't we all protect the digital world?" was UlforceVeedramon's question.

"There are... differences... " the fused Digimon said.

"I see..." he closed his eyes: "What should I do now?"

"I don't know!" Akira raved.

"UlforceVeedramon!" thundered a voice.

The blue knight startled. Behind him was Alphamon. UlforceVeedramon looked at him briefly before walking past the black knight and rushing away. Alphamon followed him with his eyes. His suspicions had therefore been confirmed. UlforceVeedramon did not want to work with King Drasil. But he didn't care.

"How are you, Omnimon?" the black knight asked him.

"My body... feels... heavy…" began the fused Digimon.

"That's normal. The virus makes you feel that way. Can you move?"

"No..."

"Very good," Alphamon touched Omnimon's bubble with his hand.

It disappeared instantly. The white knight looked at his black counterpart in amazement before feeling a strong pain on his stomach. Alphamon had kicked him.

"Omnimon!" cried Akira.

"Argh..." moaned the fused Digimon.

He opened the Grey head to exit the blade. But the black knight stomped onto it with his foot, so that it closed again. He then bent down to Omnimon and grabbed him by the collar before lifting him off the ground. Alphamon looked with his pale yellow eyes into the trapped Digimon.

"You know, Omnimon. You can escape your suffering," said the black knight.

"What...?" the fused Digimon said in amazement.

"Just join King Drasil."

"Never..."

Alphamon narrowed his eyes and punched his fist in Omnimon's stomach. He coughed and closed his eyelids.

"Think well, Omnimon. The virus is spreading. It will weaken you more and more. Soon you will feel pain. And in two days they will be so bad that you wish for your death," Alphamon raved: "After five days, you can no longer have a clear thought because of the pain. After another three days you will die and your data will be sent to King Drasil. He will then renew it, so that you will only remember that you had served King Drasil faithfully. You'll forget your partners and friends completely. Almost like after the reboot, only this time the memories remain gone forever. So think about it well. You can side with King Drasil at any time... Ultimately, you're going to do that anyway, Omnimon."

"I can... already... tell you that... in this life... I will never... help King Drasil. I am... ready for... the... pain. But... I will... never... betray my... friends..."

The black knight let go of the collar, so the fused Digimon crashed to the floor.

"You're a naive idiot, Omnimon... Friends... Do you think they will save you? We are in an intermediate dimension that no one but the Royal Knights and those brought here can enter. The place is in a gap between time and space, untraceable for those who are looking for the place," Alphamon explained.

"Alphamon... Why..."

"Why am I doing this? King Drasil is the will of the digital world. To rebel against him is a heavy crime."

"No... I wanted... to ask you... something… else"

"What then? What did you want to ask me?"

"Why... did you... tell me... that I... should kill... you..."

"What are you talking about? I never told you that...?" the black knight turned slightly and pondered.

Didn't he really say that to Omnimon? Alphamon looked down at his white counterpart. Why didn't he doubt it? Deep inside, he heard a soft voice. The black knight did not understand the words and he did not want to understand them. Alphamon snapped his fingers and a bubble formed around the fused digimon. Then the black knight flew up to Akira. She backtracked a little.

"Did you like the food?" he asked.

"I've eaten better," she said and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You should be more grateful, human."

"Hey," she said, "No one call me that. My name is Akira. A-K-I-R-A!"

"I don't care, Akira. If you want to be called Akira, then so be it..."

"How long... How long will I stay here?" she asked hesitantly.

Her courage was gone again.

"You mean how long until Crusadermon takes you hostage to pull Dynasmon on our side?" was his question.

She could only nod. Her neck was dry like some days-old bread.

"In about two days you will get out of here. So you're going to die like your sister's friend soon."

"A friend of my sister?" she repeated.

"Daigo Nishijima. He had protected Tai a year ago and suffered serious injuries that ultimately cost him his life," he paused for a moment: "Are you afraid of death?"

"Do you really want to know? Yes... I don't want to die," she pulled her legs to her chest.

"Everyone has the will to live. That is only natural. But sometimes others determine life. In your case, it's Crusadermon... But one thing I want to know... Why did Dynasmon fight against King Drasil? He had always been very loyal to him and did not even doubt him."

"Why are you asking me that, Alphamon?"

"I'm not going to visit you anymore."

"Dynasmon said that he never wants a reboot again... But... I think it's because we're friends..." she explained quietly.

"I see... The power of friendship is truly extraordinary... Your friends had defeated Apocalymon, Diaboromon, MaloMyotismon and Ordinemon..." the black knight left Akira and disappeared.

"A truly... stupid... situation..." panted Omnimon.

"Yes... We're both going to die," Akira said.

"Do you want... sleep...?" asked the fused Digimon.

"Yes... I have no choice but to do anything else... I sleep almost all day or revel in memories... That calms me down... I wait and wait and wait... Always with the fear that Crusadermon will come and take me away from here. I don't want to die, I just don't want to," she began to cry bitterly.

"Akira..." Omnimon didn't know how to cheer her up.

After all, he himself was in a stupid situation. The virus will inflict more and more pain on him and he couldn't do anything about it except to wait and endure the pain until he died.

Both remained silent. Only Akira's whimpering could be heard and the curses of the merged Digimons, who tried to move.

Both did not know how much time had passed. Only the room became darker and darker until it had been shrouded in complete blackness. Akira had fallen asleep by now and was dreaming something. The white knight, on the other hand, was immersed in his thoughts and somehow tried to endure his inevitable fate. So he didn't notice that footsteps were coming. It wasn't until Omnimon felt a hand on his neck that he was terrified.

"Sht... Be quiet... Otherwise, the Royal Knights notice something..." the stranger spoke softly.

The voice sounded calm and composed, yet pleasantly friendly.

"Who-", the white knight wanted to ask further.

"I will remove the virus... You should then go to Primary Village... Duftmon and Examon will be able to protect you."

"What is... with Akira...?" asked Omnimon quietly.

"I... can save only one of you... and I don't have much time... So please do what I tell you..."

"Okay..." the fused Digimon felt the virus being pulled from his body.

Then he straightened up and sighed with relief. He was able to move his body again. Omnimon wanted to turn around and thank his saviour, but he took several steps back, so the darkness swallowed him.

"I have a request," the voice said.

"And that would be?"

"Kill Alphamon. It's the best and only way.'

"But-"

"Please. Do it," the stranger asked.

"Okay.", Omnimon pulled the Grey blade out of the protector and created a distortion.

Then he stepped through them and left his saviour and Akira, who was asleep.


	32. Chapter 32 - Decisions

Chapter 32 – Decisions

The melody sounded soft, but also sounded sad despite the sunlight. Matt sat on the bed in his room and played harmonica. His eyes were closed and he blew what he could think of. Ever since the blonde-haired man knew Gabumon had been kidnapped, he had no desire to play something happy.

Eventually, he let the instrument sink and he lay down on the bed. His eyes closed and he sighed heavily. He was very worried about his partner. And to make matters worse, Hackmon was only standing by idly as Omnimon was kidnapped by Alphamon.

In Matt, an unbelievable rage stirred up at him. The four-footed dragon had done nothing to prevent the kidnapping, but he was the one who worked with the Homeostasis. The more the blonde-haired man thought about it, the angrier he became. With a heavy sigh, he shook his head and stared at the ceiling. Suddenly the room door opened and Tai stepped in.

"Tai?" asked Matt, astonished that he saw him: "How did you come here?"

"Your father opened the door," he replied.

The blond-haired man remained silent and made no attempt to get up.

"Hey... I'm as worried about Agumon as you are worried about Gabumon... But we cannot change anything. We have to wait and see," Kari's brother tried to cheerful him.

"You don't help, Tai!" he shouted at him.

"Don't be so angry with me! We can't do anything, so finally keep your mouth open! Do you think I'm not worried?! The fact that we can't do anything makes me angry, but unlike you, I try to make the most of the situation!"

"And you're just hiding behind your worry freedom!"

"I'm not hiding! In contrast to you-"

"Come on! You're just jealous because I'm with Sora!' the blonde-haired man screamed and straightened up again.

Tai crossed the distance between them and hugged his best friend. The brown-haired patted Matt's back gently. He knew that the blond-haired man was very depressed.

"Calm down, Matt. We both worry about Agumon and Gabumon... But you can't shout at me about it," Tai said calmly.

"Sorry, Tai..." Matt replied, putting his arms around the brown-haired man: "The only thing I can think about is Gabumon... I have ignored-"

He broke off and unleashed the hug before looking to the side.

"Matt. Please never say again that I am jealous of you because you love Sora," Kari's brother said earnestly: "It's true. I loved Sora. But... No more now. I love Meiko."

"I know," the blonde-haired man sighed: "I'm sorry... I'm way too restless. Not knowing what's going on with Gabumon."

"He's strong," Tai paused for a moment: "I also feel like Omnimon has already freed himself."

"An animus, isn't it?" Matt forced himself to smile.

"Exactly!" he nodded firmly to his friend.

The blonde-haired man started laughing slightly, but quickly got serious again.

"Tai? I kept you a little secret," T.K.'s brother said depressed.

"What?"

"I got a commitment..."

"What?" was now aroused Tai's curiosity.

"To study in America."

"That's great," the brown-haired man smiled happily at him, before realising what Matt was trying to do: "Oh..."

"Exactly. I will probably leave Japan for study. In other words, I won't be able to see you for years," Matt bit his lower lip.

"Hey. It's your dream and we support you. After all, everyone has dreams. Like Mr Nishijima, for example, I would like to become an official. Meiko wants to become a biologist, Joe doctor. Everyone has their dreams that they want to realize." Tai put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Unlike you, however, I will study in America..."

"And? I will not study in Japan, but in England. Just like Meiko. Ask Sora if she wants to study in America."

"I already have. She will stay here in Japan."

"But why are we DigiDestined? We can meet in the digital world, right, Matt?"

"Right. Sometimes I forget I'm one," he smiled.

"You see? Now you're better off."

"Yes... Thank you, Tai. I don't know what I would do without my friends."

"You're welcome. What if we go for a walk? The air in there still kills me," Tai suggested.

"Good idea. Fresh air will certainly do me good," the blonde-haired man sighed.

Matt got up and followed his friend outside. Both quietly walked through a park. They couldn't say anything else. After a while, the two friends saw Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon and Wormmon. The four Digimons chatted under a bridge. The blue dragon looked depressed three. Tai was about to go to the digimon when he noticed Matt's hand in front of him.

"Let's listen to what they have to say," the blonde-haired man explained.

Kari's brother nodded and remained silent as he looked at Veemon again.

"So you're collecting energy?" the green insect questioned.

"Seems like this... But... Why?" the blue dragon sighed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Cody always says there's an explanation for everything," said the armadillo digimon, who lay down on the floor.

"Even for the most inexplicable things in the digital world," the falcon tried to cheer him up.

"Despite this, I feel so helpless. I can't do anything to protect Davis... And then there are those dreams... With Quetzalmon and... three ultimate-level Digimon," Veemon said depressed.

"Do you know what ultimate-level Digimon's they are?" was Hawkmon's question.

"Unfortunately no..." Davis' partner shook his head: "I only see their silhouettes... However, I think you are these ultimate-level Digimon."

"We?" Armadillomon sounded astonished.

"How do you get there?" asked Wormmon.

"It... is just a feeling..." the blue dragon looked to the side.

"Hm..." both the falcon and the armadillo Digimon closed their eyes and pondered.

"You're feeling had never fooled you," said the green insect.

"Are you sure?" Veemon sighed again.

"Sure! Of all the Digimon I know, you have the best sense, Veemon. If you believe that the three ultimate-level Digimon from your dreams are us, then so be it."

"Thank you, Wormmon."

"You're welcome. Now… I have to go back to Ken. He's certainly worried," Wormmon said, saying goodbye before he left.

Hawkmon and Armadillomon also said goodbye and left the blue dragon alone. He sighed heavily. He wanted to talk to his friends for a longer time, but he couldn't. Tai rushed to Veemon, who was astonished.

"How... much have you heard?" he asked.

"Everything," replied the brown-haired man.

"I... what am I supposed to do?"

"We are in a similar situation, Veemon," Tai said, kneeling down to him.

"We? Is there anyone else?"

"Yes" Kari's brother nodded: "Matt is here too. We just wanted to take a walk... Wanyamon and Sera and Shin are also in a similar situation. They miss Akira. But you know that."

"Actually, I would have screamed at you now... but you are also powerless. Davis hasn't been kidnapped, but I can't digivolve anymore!"

"But you heard Izzy. You gather energy to make a massive digivolution."

"Or another armour-digivolution... Davis hadn't told me, but a third Digimental is forming in the communication device. I just know."

"Then focus on the fact that it will be soon. You just have to be a little bit more patient," Tai encouraged him.

"Patience..." began Matt, who had joined in: "Soon you will surely be able to use the Digimental."

Veemon felt a little better after talking to both his Digimon friends and two people. The blue dragon closed his eyes and sighed with relief.

* * *

UlforceVeedramon went through the conversation with Akira and Omnimon as he flew through the air of the digital world. He didn't like the fact that he served King Drasil. But he was afraid of the wrath of the god and the other Royal Knights. His eyes looked down, where he saw several Digimon. They played happily together. How much he would have liked to have played with them... how much he would have liked to have had a carefree life. Why did he have to be a Royal Knight? Why him? And why on the side of King Drasil?

UlforceVeedramon landed on the ground and folded his wing. No one seemed to understand him. He just didn't want to go on. But he did not want to betray his master. Perhaps the best thing he could do was to follow King Drasil blindly, but then he would think that this way was the wrong one.

With slow steps, the blue knight continued. He seemed completely depressed. With a heavy sigh, he thought back to the time when all the Royal Knights protected the digital world. UlforceVeedramon did not understand why Omnimon, Sleipmon, Gallantmon, Dynasmon, and Jesmon sided with the humans. But he wanted to understand it. No matter what reason he came up with, it sounded so unreal, childish or even idiotic.

"UlforceVeedramon!" a deep yet catchy voice shouted at him.

The said Digimon turned around and recognized Craniamon, who was in the air. The blue knight briefly wondered why the diabolical Digimon was here. But that idea was quickly driven away by him. Perhaps Craniamon was only here because he had received an order from King Drasil. After all, the purple knight was very faithful to the deity. Craniamon landed on the ground in front of UlforceVeedramon and looked at him with his red eyes.

"Hello..." the blue knight greeted him.

"Is there something wrong, UlforceVeedramon?" asked the diabolical Digimon.

"Do you think that the path King Drasil takes is the right one?" was his counter-question.

He wanted to know a response from Craniamon. The Digimon he trusted most.

"It's the right way," the purple knight replied.

"What makes you so sure?"

"What are these questions, UlforceVeedramon?!" Craniamon replied angrily: "We serve King Drasil without a question... Why should it be wrong?"

"I mean... King Drasil was also wrong when it thought that Ordinemon would destroy the human world, wasn't he? In the end, the DigiDestined were able to defeat Ordinemon."

"It was only because Jesmon and Omnimon supported them."

"You think so?" UlforceVeedramon didn't believe his friend's words: "Jesmon contributed only a small part. And Omnimon could only defeat Ordinemon with the help of the other digimon. Did you forget that, Craniamon?"

"Of course not. But both are Royal Knights and both are on the side of the DigiDestined and the humans... Not only them... Even Dynasmon, who had never doubted King Drasil, Sleipmon and Gallantmon." he sighed heavily.

"And what about Examon, Duftmon and... Magnamon?" the blue knight recalled.

Magnamon was also a Royal Knight. According to King Drasil, he had survived the attack. But what became of him remained unknown. UlforceVeedramon would have liked to have asked Quetzalmon, but she was already dead and could not be reborn.

"Magnamon... This name evokes memories," Craniamon said: "Where might he be now? King Drasil doesn't know."

"Maybe Magnamon... was not reborn. It can happen, can it?" the blue knight looked to the side.

"Don't you remember? He had said shortly before the attack that because of the disputes, the Royal Knights could never exist again."

"But we exist! Although we are divided! We exist!" said UlforceVeedramon angrily.

"Don't get angry with me!"

"Sorry... I know I shouldn't shout at you... But I don't get rid of the feeling that we are only being exploited by King Drasil."

"Don't doubt King Drasil, UlforceVeedramon," Craniamon said, "otherwise you will pay for it with your life."

"But what is the right way? What is wrong, what is... right? Isn't the unconditional service of King Drasil a reason for escaping reality?"

"That..." he broke off.

"What gives us the right to believe in King Drasil? Do you understand what I mean, Craniamon? Everything we stand for, no..." he shook his head briefly: "Everything we stood for... Stability, harmony, security. Hasn't that become insignificant?"

"Do you want to turn your back on King Drasil? Do you want to join the Homeostasis?"

"I... don't know... Maybe all I need is a break. Perhaps I no longer want to serve King Drasil, because I understand that even he makes mistakes. Mistakes so serious that almost an entire world has been wiped out."

"That is why you behave so naive in the presence of King Drasil and the other Royal Knights."

"I don't want all of this. I don't want to fight my old comrades," UlforceVeedramon sighed.

"Then go. I'm not stopping you, my old friend. If you have doubts, think. But if you stand against King Drasil, I will show no mercy to you."

"I know. But thank you for your words, Craniamon. They mean a lot to me.", the blue knight flapped his wings vigorously: "I will think. And maybe my doubts will soon be gone and I can support King Drasil with full heart."

UlforceVeedramon rose into the air and nodded to his friend before flying away.

"You go into your ruin, UlforceVeedramon," Craniamon said, "When you deceive King Drasil, only death awaits you."

* * *

Davis yawned extensively. Why did they have to come to school on Saturday? And then also so early and without Kari? Veemon, who had made himself comfortable on his back, smiled slightly at him. Cody was in high spirits because he liked to work on school projects. Ken was also in good spirits, because it was his first "school day" at his new school. He was finally able to go to school with his friends. Yolei herself also seemed happy. Especially because Wormmon's partner went to the same class she was in it

"I honestly don't understand why you're looking forward to such a school project," the red-brown-haired man quipped.

"It's a good opportunity. School projects are always fun," the boy said cheerfully.

"Exactly! And we can even do this with Ken. In that case, it's going to be great!" Hawkmon's partner exclaimed with delight.

"Don't look at it so negatively, Davis," Ken said, slightly pushing him into the side.

"And we can eat a lot! Free snacks, kind of!" said Armadillomon.

"Right. Do you think they have rice balls there?" asked Veemon.

"Maybe," Hawkmon replied, flapping his wings excitedly.

"I definitely want to eat fried noodles!" said Wormmon.

"Can you think of anything else besides food, you four?" was Davis's annoyed question.

"We're hungry!" the blue dragon protested: "We two of us ran out of the house at seven o'clock in the morning, because you had once again overslept, Davis!"

"You had also overslept, Veemon."

"Hello? Unlike you, I try to find out in my dreams why I knew Quetzalmon."

"In other words..." the red-brown-haired man smiled: "You wanted to sleep as long as I did!"

"No, I didn't!"

The two argued a little more, while Ken rubbed his forehead annoyed.

"Are they arguing again?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

"Yes..." Cody laughed a little dryly.

"Well... I think they're arguing because it shows their close bond," Yolei said, shrugging her shoulders.

"How can arguing show a close bond?" was Wormmon's question.

"No idea," Armadillomon replied, "Do you have an idea, Hawkmon?"

"Nope." the hawk replied.

Suddenly, a distortion arose behind the DigiDestined and their partner. Davis first noticed this and shouted:

"Watch out! A distortion!"

The red-brown-haired man briefly recalled that Alphamon had brought them into the digital world through a distortion and then defeated them there.

"What?!" Ken turned when he saw a hand.

It did not belong to the black knight, but it still frightened him. Before the other DigiDestined or their partners could say anything, the hand grabbed them all and dragged them into the digital world. Yolei cried out with surprise and shock alike.

"Are we being attacked again by King Drasil?!" asked Cody in a panic.

"I don't know!" shouted Davis.

Before they could exchange more words, they ended up on the hard ground of the digital world.

"Ow..." moaned Veemon.

"We are..." Ken began.

"In the digital world," Cody concluded the sentence.

Meanwhile, the young woman looked at the digimon that had taken her into the digital world. It wasn't Alphamon... It was a different digimon.

"Who... are you?" the red-brown-haired man asked, somewhat insecurely.

"UlforceVeedramon," the stranger Digimon replied coolly.

"Are you working with King Drasil?" was the boy's question.

"Yes. I am a Royal Knight. According to King Drasil's order, I should get you out of the way," the blue knight declared.

"Then..." Ken swallowed heavily.

"We're not going to surrender without a fight, right Veemon?" shouted Davis.

"Exactly!" he confirmed the words.

"Digimental of courage, up!"

"Veemon armour-digivolve to... Flamedramon!"

"We should digivolve as well!" suggested Armadillomon.

"Good idea. Wormmon warp-digivolve to... JewelBeemon!" shouted Ken's partner.

"Hawkmon warp-digivolve to... Velgremon!" the skeletonized bird flapped with his two wings and growled a little.

"Armadillomon warp-digivolve to... Brachiomon!" the dinosaur stretched his long neck forward and hit the ground with his tail.

"We may only be three perfect-level digimon and one armour Digimon, but together we can defeat you!" said Flamedramon euphorically.

"Actually, it's impossible." sighed JewelBeemon.

"Yes... We will probably die again and then be controlled by Alphamon." Brachiomon laughed dryly.

"Definitely. We don't have a chance against a Royal Knight," Velgremon sighed.

"Where is your enthusiasm?! How do you want to protect your partners when you don't even have positive thoughts?" the flame dragon asked, "When we faced Alphamon, two of us couldn't even digivolve to the perfect-level..."

"But we had an ultimate-level digimon," the dinosaur clarified.

"And it was just a fusion that we can't do anymore," the insect man continued.

"So our chances of winning are lower than they were back then," the skeletonized bird landed back on the ground.

"Why have you digivolved then?! We don't have a chance if we don't try!" Flamedramon exclaimed: "Why do you have your perfect-level now?! For what?! So that you can protect your friends!"

"That's true... But-", Velgremon broke off.

"No buts! We will do it! So pull yourself together!" the flame dragon encouraged the other Digimon.

"Okay." JewelBeemon nodded to Flamedramon resolutely.

The dinosaur raced towards UlforceVeedramon.

"Hammer Head!" Brachiomon rammed the blue knight with his head.

But he grabbed Cody's partner by the neck and hurled it at the skeletonized bird, which was about to unleash a beam of dark energy. Velgremon suppressed a curse when he and Brachiomon slammed to the ground. Immediately, the dinosaur rose and apologized briefly before Velgremon himself straightened up. The skeletonized bird flew back into the air and shot towards the enemy. But just before he reached it, Velgremon let himself fall into a side position, so that his left wing touched the ground. Then he flew a circle around UlforceVeedramon. The blue knight instinctively knew that this had to be an attack. So he blew up.

"You're not going to do that," JewelBeemon raved, flying over him: "Spike Buster!"

The insect man swung his spear in his right hand and created a shock wave that hurled the enemy back into the centre of the circle.

"Zone Deleter!" Velgremon closed the circle and a violent explosion captured UlforceVeedramon.

Shortly before the explosion, Flamedramon had already engulfed himself in flames.

"Fire Rocket!" he said, ramming his body into the enemy's.

Then the flame dragon jumped back.

"Now!" he shouted, "All together!"

"Good! Spike Buster!" JewelBeemon created a shock wave.

"Master of Darkness!" Velgremon shot a beam of dark energy.

"Brachio Bubble!", Brachiomon spit a gigantic bubble out of his mouth.

"Knuckle Fire!" Flamedramon fired three fireballs.

The four attacks collided with the blue knight and encased him in a cloud of dust.

"He's gone!" cried the flame dragon.

The dust cloud cleared and revealed nothing but a crater.

"We actually have..." the insect man began.

"… a Royal Knight..." the skeletonized bird continued.

"… defeated," the dinosaur concluded the sentence.

Suddenly something raced towards them and ignited a wave of energy that threw everyone on the ground.

"Do you really think that's enough to defeat me?" UlforceVeedramon asked coolly: "I'm a Royal Knight. I'm not going to be defeated by three perfect-level Digimon."

"Damn!" Flamedramon quipped, standing up.

"Now you will die and work again for King Drasil."

"Never!" cried Brachiomon.

'We don't want that! We don't want to attack our friends!" said Velgremon.

"You can do whatever you want with us, but you leave our friends alone!" said JewelBeemon.

"Good... Dragon Impulse X!", the blue knight created a sphere and hurled the four Digimon further away from themselves.

"JewelBeemon!" screamed Ken and rushed to him.

"Velgremon!" Yolei ran to her partner.

"Brachiomon!" Cody raced to him.

"Flamedramon..." Davis walked slowly to his friend.

He was shrouded in a light before he turned back to Veemon.

"I'm sorry, Davis... I can't do more. If I wasn't so weak then..." he broke off.

"Don't worry about it, Veemon. You did your best," the red-brown-haired man eased him.

/No... that can't be the end... We are always a burden for others... I don't accept that anymore... I don't want to be a burden anymore.../, JewelBeemon's partner thought: "I will not allow JewelBeemon to be forced to work for King Drasil again! Never!"

"Ken..." the insect man looked at him and, despite the injuries, straightened up again.

"My friends mean everything to me! I don't want to lose Wormmon again... That's why I'm going to protect him, even though as a human being I can't do anything against a Digimon."

"Stop, Ken," JewelBeemon said.

"No. I'm not going to let you down, JewelBeemon. You are my friend. That is why I will stay with you. Even when I became a Digimon Emperor, you were always with me and tried to protect me because you were my friend. This time I will protect you!"

"Ken... I..." a light formed around his body: "Yes... You are my friend... and that's why I'm going to protect you!"

JewelBeemon screamed resolutely and stepped in front of his partner.

"I'm going to protect Ken!" the insect man shouted: "JewelBeemon digivolve to... BanchoStingmon!"

BanchoStingmon had red scales on the underside of the forearms, chest, head and legs. The upper arms were protected by black armour parts. On the cubits sat a purple ring and on the shoulders a golden one with silver-grey spines. The top of the forearms were covered with golden plates, while at the end of it there was a silver-grey sting several centimetres long on each side. The four fingers were deformed into claws and could probably also leave deep wounds. The insect man wore black trousers up to his knees, which were decorated with gold buttons. His feet consisted of only three claws. Two were facing forwards, the third backwards to give him support. The purple cape blew majestically from his back. Two large holes on the back of the cape gave the four transparent wings freedom. The head of BanchoStingmon was shaped like an insect, apart from having a grey mouth guard. The green insect eyes looked resolutely at the opponent, while the two red probes shrugged slightly. There was purple hair at the back of the head. The insect man was accompanied by two drones that bore a little resemblance to Digmon.

"Wow...", Yolei marvelled: "It's... unbelievable."

She couldn't put it into words. Had Ken's partner just digivolved to his ultimate-level? Her eyes widened with astonishment.

"Yolei!" said Velgremon, and straightened up.

Immediately, she turned to him and nodded decisively to him.

"What he can do... can we, or Velgremon? After all, you're a part of my family," she smiled.

"Yes.", the skeletonized bird nodded to her resolutely: "Velgremon digivolve to... Ornithmon!"

Ornithmon looked like a primeval dinosaur that had long since died out. Its purple scales shone slightly in the glow of the sun. On the inner side of the wings were two rows of feathers. The inner row was turquoise; the outer one had a strong pink. At the end of the wings, three grey claws were visible, but they did not function at all. The base of the head and tail was embroidered with a turquoise ring of fur. A comb held in turquoise connected the fur ring from the head and tail. Also on the base of the grey feet, which consisted of two forward-facing claws and a rear-facing claw, was a ring of turquoise fur. The long tail was studded with purple scales and pink feathers at the edge. At the bottom of the tail were a row of yellow scales, which allowed the bird to move its tail better. Ornithmon's head was pink and had two red eyes, while a kind of horn was running over them, pointing backwards. Under the eyes ran a row of purple scales, while the beak looked as if it were made of teeth.

"Well... Now all we're missing, Cody," Brachiomon said, taking a deep breath.

"Do you think we can do it?" he asked.

"Sure. After all, you are my partner and you always give me courage and a feeling of security."

"Good. Then let's do it!"

"Okay! Brachiomon digivolve to... Spinomon!"

Spinomon was partially embroidered with light brown scales. The underside and inside of the arms and legs, however, were covered with yellow-brown scales. Several knives grew on his back. At the edge of it were white spikes, which in turn were framed with red scales that resembled armor rather than scales. The dinosaur ran on two heavily built hind legs, which were embroidered with three forward-facing claws and a rear-facing claw. The arms were also very strong and had three fingers each. Spinomon had two blue eyes and a mouth embroidered with sharp white teeth. On the forehead grew a kind of comb, which was however very stable and could not be bent. The dinosaur's long tail balanced it.

"They all..." Veemon began depressed: /They all manage to digivolve to their ultimate-level.../

"Veemon..." Davis said, hugging him.

The other DigiDestined were very happy about the sudden new digivolutions of their partners. They looked up at them with pride and smiled.

"Good. Go!" BanchoStingmon shouted to the other two.

"We're going to defeat him," Ornithmon said, flapping hard with his long feathered wings.

"And we will protect our friends!" said Spinomon: "Blue Prominence!"

The dinosaur spit blue flames on UlforceVeedramon. He dodged to the side, but the insect man had already followed him and crossed the blades with the opponents.

"Bakuraiten.", the two drones raced to the blue knight and exploded as they touched his body.

Just like that, UlforceVeedramon was able to fly into the air to escape another attack by BanchoStingmon. The bird hurried to him and flapped his wings.

"Tempest!" he shouted, throwing the enemy into the air before creating a tornado.

The blue knight was captured by the tornado, but survived the attack badly wounded. When he landed on the ground, Digimons' three ultimate-levels surrounded him.

"Dragon Impulse X!" UlforceVeedramon conjured up a sphere that threw away all the fighting Digimon.

Now everyone was battered and would survive only one attack.

"Even if we now have our ultimate-level... We still can't defeat him," the dinosaur growled.

"Patience," BanchoStingmon said, "He's just as battered as we are."

"We combine our attacks and do it," the bird suggested.

"Good! Sonic Slash Rain!" Spinomon fired his spines at his back.

"Bakuraiten!" the insect man produced five drones this time.

"Cosmic Ray!" the bird fired a flash from its beak.

The three attacks combined and collided with UlforceVeedramon. He screamed in pain before collapsing.

"You are... really strong... DigiDestined..." he panted: "Ultimately... I'm glad... that I now... die. I am... tired with... serving… King Drasil…"

With these last words, the blue knight dissolved into data. All DigiDestined and their partners looked silently behind the data before they disappeared completely. There began a long silence between them until Davis cut them through:

"Who would have thought that... that even among King Drasil's subordinates there are those who do not agree with him..."

"Yes" Ken said, smiling.

Yolei laughed happily, while Cody also smiled. The three ultimate-level Digimons shrouded themselves in a light and digivolved back to their in-training level.

"Hey, everyone. Do I dream or were our partner on their ultimate-levels?" the boy asked in disbelief.

"It's not a dream! They've really digivolved!" the young woman cried, taking Poromon in her arms: "You did well, Poromon."

"You too, Upamon," Cody praised his partner after he also lifted him up.

"Thank you. I felt extremely strong as Spinomon," Upamon said.

"I felt strong, too," Minomon laughed cheerfully.

"I can understand," Ken smiled at his partner.

"Wow... It was really unbelievable!" exclaimed Davis: "Your ultimate-levels are so cool!"

The red-brown-haired man congratulated his friends. Meanwhile, Veemon's hands clenched into trembling fists.

/Why... why can't I digivolve normally anymore?/, he asked himself: /I'm just a burden for the others now.../

"Don't you think it was a bit weird?" was Ken's question.

"How do you mean that?" asked Yolei.

"He held back... and his last words..." Cody said thoughtfully.

"It doesn't matter! The important thing is that we have a Royal Knight less!" exclaimed Davis euphorically.

"That's fine," Minomon's partner smiled slightly at him.

"So... and how do we get back into our world now?" the boy suddenly asked.

Everyone then remained silent as their eyes widened. They had absolutely no idea how to get back to their world.

* * *

From a distance, Craniamon had watched the fight. He had suspected that UlforceVeedramon had been killed. However, he did not expect Wormmon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon to reach their ultimate-level. Although the purple knight felt a distressing feeling in his chest because of the loss of a good friend, he was strangely happy about it too. Craniamon knew that his best friend would have doubted himself more and more if he had continued to execute King Drasil's orders.

"Well, UlforceVeedramon. That was probably the best way for you." he said, depressed.

With a heavy sigh, the purple knight rose into the air and flew away.

* * *

**Author's note:** Wormmon's, Armadillomon's and Hawkmon's ultimate-levels are now revealed. Yay!

Fun fact. First Valdurmon was supposed to be Hawkmon's ultimate level but then I decided: "No. Valdurmon is too holy to be Hawkmon's ultimate level since his perfect level is Velgremon. And to Velgremon I have to say some things as well. I chose this perfect level digimon because there was literally no other perfect level bird like digimon. Garudamon is Biyomon's perfect, HippoGriffomon is the perfect of Zhuqiaomon and I dislike Crowmon/Yatagaramon. So yeah... The only one memorable left was Velgremon. 😅

I am also sad that the partners from the 02 cast didn't get non-fusion perfect-level or even ultimate-level. Then I started writing this fanfic I wanted them to have those levels because Patamon and Gatomon already got them and fusing with Armadillomon and Hawkmon would be on a tactical standpoint pretty much useless. So the crests for Meiko, Yolei and Cody were created.


	33. Chapter 33 - The truth

Chapter 33 – The truth

"Digimental of friendship, up!" exclaimed Davis.

"Veemon armour-digivolve to... Raidramon!"

"Hawkmon digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

A day had passed since UlforceVeedramon was killed. The three in-training Digimon had just regained enough energy to at least digivolve to their adult-levels. This allowed the group to move faster with the help of Raidramon and Aquilamon.

"Good!" said Yolei, "Now we can travel faster!"

"I'm so glad, Raidramon, that you're so fast!" smiled the red-brown-haired man.

"Y-yes..." he said with little vigour.

"Is there something bothering you, Raidramon?" asked Wormmon.

"It's... it's nothing," he looked to the side, biting his teeth together.

There were two questions in him. He had asked himself one question so many times. Why couldn't he digivolve normally anymore? Why? It didn't make sense. Now that Wormmon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon have been able to digivolve to their ultimate-level, the jealousy in him only ignited more. The black armoured dog wondered if it still made sense to fight. He was just a burden to everyone.

The other question that burned in him was why UlforceVeedramon was so easily killed. Raidramon had heard it. The blue knight did not want and could no longer serve King Drasil. He knew that, but why did UlforceVeedramon no longer want to serve him? Perhaps he had considered King Drasil to be flawed? The black-armoured dog would probably never know the answer to this question.

"Okay," Armadillomon replied simply, "But if there's something, you can tell us."

"Exactly!" the eagle agreed: "We are here for you, Raidramon."

"Thank you... but-" Raidramon said.

"Come one!" Davis cried euphorically: "We should finally move on."

"Davis!" his partner growled angrily: "You idiot! Don't you understand what position I'm in right now?!"

"Raidramon..." his eyes widened with horror.

The red-brown-haired man had not expected such an answer. The eyes of the black-armoured dog also widened. He hadn't even noticed that he had pronounced the sentence out loud.

"I... I..." Raidramon stuttered: "I am... You're an idiot, Davis! You can't even imagine what it's like to be powerless! Do you think it's easy watching the others have all the work while I'm just standing there and can't do anything?! But you think it's easy!"

"Rai... dramon..." Davis said depressed: "I didn't want to... I thought..."

"Just keep looking for excuses, Davis! I'm just a burden to everyone! Talk about how great it is to be able to digivolve to the ultimate-level! Praise yourself for being able to do it and ignore me! I don't care! I'm useless! Useless!"

Upset, the black-armoured dog let go a growl. Without warning, he squealed between Davis and Ken and just ran further out into the steppe.

"Raidramon! Wait!" his partner shouted after him.

"I'll take care of it," Wormmon said: "Wormmon warp-digivolve... BanchoStingmon! Don't worry. I'm going to catch up with him.!

"Please hurry up," Cody asked, "We don't know if we're being attacked by other Royal Knights."

"Cody is right. Please hurry up, BanchoStingmon," Ken said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I will." the insect man nodded to the DigiDestined and the partners before rushing behind Raidramon.

Davis sighed heavily and rubbed his left hand over his eyes.

"Davis..." Cody said, somewhat insecurely.

"Raidramon never said anything like that to me." he said.

"He's just upset because he can't digivolve and our partners have reached their ultimate-levels in front of his own eyes," Ken said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"But that's no reason for him to shout at Davis like that," Yolei sighed.

"No." Aquilamon agreed.

"How about if we don't talk about it before him..." suggested Armadillomon.

"How do you mean that?" asked the red-brown-haired man.

"Davis... Sometimes I wonder if you're just doing so stupid or really stupid." the boy folded his arms in front of his chest: "Armadillomon means that we don't talk about our partners being able to digitize to their perfect- or ultimate-level."

"I'm not stupid, Cody!" Davis exclaimed angrily: "You and Armadillomon just take extremely complicated things into a single sentence!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," the young woman tried to calm the situation: "It doesn't get us any further. We want to help Raidramon..."

"That's why we shouldn't argue," continued BanchoStingmon's partner: "Raidramon is not doing well... He feels more and more useless, which I can understand."

"I think Armadillomon's suggestion is actually good... Let's stop talking about being able to digivolve to our perfect- and ultimate-level," the eagle said.

"But it's only going to work a little bit..." Cody sigehd: "Raidramon will see that our partners will digivolve to the said levels..."

"Hm... That's right..." Davis sighed resignedly.

"Maybe you should talk to Raidramon about it intensively," the young woman suggested: "I mean. This will help and-"

"You should finally tell your parents and sister that you are a DigiDestined," Aquilamon Yolei interrupted.

"This... if it helps Raidramon." the red-brown-haired man looked to the ground.

"It's going to help him, Davis," Ken said.

"Yes... Thank you."

* * *

BanchoStingmon hurried after Raidramon at high speed. He already had a huge advantage. Nevertheless, BanchoStingmon was faster. After just over a minute, he had already caught up with the black-armoured dog and stood in front of him, so that he came to a stop.

"Leave me alone!" growled Raidramon.

"Calm down," said the insect man: "What was this supposed to be?"

"What's wrong with you?!" he slammed his left front paw into the ground.

"Raidramon..." he knelt down to him: "Are you jealous of us? Because we can digivolve to our ultimate-level?"

"Yes!" his left front paw hit the ground again.

"At some point you will be able to digivolve normally again."

"At some point is not now!"

"Trust yourself and Davis, you'll get stronger!"

The black-armoured dog laughed dryly.

"Trust me and Davis?!" he shouted, "Did this trust make me stronger?! Can I digivolve to the ultimate-level like you?! No, I can't! So, where is your explanation, why can't I digivolve normally?!"

"You collect ener-"

"Don't come to me with a guess from Izzy!" he growled.

"Raidramon!" BanchoStingmon slowly became angry, but still tried to stay calm, but he didn't like how his friend yelled at him.

"What?! Oh, I know! You just want to oppress me because I can't digivolve!"

"That's not true! Don't you remember how we fused? We just had a goal!"

"Are you kidding me?!" screamed Raidramon: "Just because we could fuse, you mean that you can understand how I feel! For your information, I feel useless and weak! How am I supposed to protect Davis?! I don't want it to happen again."

"You mean the matter with Alphamon and that we were controlled by him."

"No." he shook his head: "I mean the thing that we allowed our partners to be kidnapped by him!"

"Alphamon is a Royal Knight... We wouldn't have had a chance against him."

"But now you have one, because you can digivolve to your ultimate-level. You are stronger than ever... And what about me? I can only digivolve to my rookie-level... I... I am useless. Come on. Don't hold back! Laugh at me!", the black-armoured dog closed his eyes, had trouble suppressing his anger even longer.

"I will never laugh at you, Raidramon."

"Do it!" he asked him: "Do it! I'm useless! You want it! Come on, laugh at me, BanchoStingmon!"

"I-"

"No excuse! Laugh at me!"

Angry, Raidramon again hit his left front paw on the ground. A small crater was created under the paw and a tremor. The insect man looked at the crater in horror. He had not guessed with such force. Even Raidramon reacted in shock.

"What did I-?!" Davis's partner, terrified, said, "How?! What?! Where did this strength-?!"

Visibly confused, he looked up to BanchoStingmon, then back to the crater.

"We... should go back to the others..." said the insect man after he had caught himself.

"Why?" asked Raidramon.

"We or they could be attacked by one or more Royal Knights," he said, "it would be better if we stayed together."

"I see.", the black-armoured dog sighed and closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath and wanted to apologize to his friend. But he knew BanchoStingmon had already forgiven him because the insect man was very understanding. Raidramon nodded to BanchoStingmon before both went back to the others. When the two reached out to their friends, Davis looked seriously at his partner.

"Man, Raidramon... What do you do for things?" he asked.

"I-" he began.

Suddenly the bush nearby rustled. Yolei left a scream in horror and jumped a metre back, hitting Aquilamon. Cody's face also showed shock. Armadillomon growled a bit while BanchoStingmon summoned his drones. The red-brown-haired man and Ken looked excitedly at the bush, while Raidramon was ready to attack the stranger. You could feel the tension of the group. No matter what came, it was certainly not friendly.

A Digimon with purple fur finally emerged from the bushes. Dorumon looked back and forth between the four humans and Digimon in amazement. He tilted his head to the left with a questioning gaze. Audibly, everyone breathed a sigh. It was just the purple Digimon.

"Wasn't here a forest?" asked Dorumon, astonished, scratching his head with one of his claws.

"We... We don't know," Aquilamon said after he pulled himself together.

"Really not?"

"Really not," Davis said, smiling slightly.

"Hm... What am I doing now?" the purple Digimon pondered briefly.

"You could come with us," Cody suggested.

"Yes. We are currently looking for a way back into the human world," Armadillomon said.

"Hm... Sounds good..." Dorumon replied thoughtfully, before nodding decisively: "Okay! I will follow you! Wherever you go! Perhaps a distortion will catch us that bring us back into the human world!"

"You don't believe that, don't you?" asked Raidramon.

"Exactly!" the purple Digimon laughed embarrassedly.

"In this case," BanchoStingmon said, before being enveloped by a light.

A short time later, Minomon showed up.

"Man...", somewhat offended, the in-training digimon looked at his partner: "I thought I could-"

"Minomon," Ken whispered to him, "We haven't agreed to talk about your perfect- and ultimate-levels before Raidramon. So please do it too, okay?"

"Okay..." Minomon muttered.

Raidramon also wrapped himself in a light and turned back to Veemon. Davis wanted to go to him and kneel down, but the blue dragon backed in front of him. Dorumon observed this with an expressionless face. He himself remained silent and dispelled a stupid thought before smiling:

"So... Do we want to leave now?"

"Where do we go?" asked Armadillomon.

"I don't know... But I want to see a certain place!"

"What place?" was Yolei's question.

She was really curious about Dorumon.

"Um... There is such a strange object in the place..." he tried to remember what it looked like.

"Strange object?" Ken repeated somewhat astonished.

"What strange object?" asked Davis.

"Well... The object was gigantic with tubes on top and... Um... the object is drifting on the water?" the purple Digimon tried to describe the object.

"You mean a ship?" was Aquilamon's question.

"Yes! Exactly! A ship! So it's like that!" smiled Dorumon: "Can you get me there? I mean... the area is very icy..."

"Sure!" the boy said, smiling: "It's best to take Ornithmon for it, right?"

"Yes..." Minomon confirmed.

"Good idea," Armadillomon agreed.

"What are we waiting for?" smiled Davis euphorically.

"Just that Aquilamon is doing a warp digitation," Ken replied.

"Okay, okay... Aquilamon warp-digivolve to... Ornithmon! Everyone hop on!" he couldn't stop laughing.

When everyone had climbed on top of him, the bird flapped with its large wings and rose high into the air.

"Since when can Aquilamon digivolve to its ultimate-level?" asked Dorumon.

"Only since yesterday," Yolei replied proudly.

Veemon clenched his hands to fists. Again, this issue came up. Cody looked angrily at the young woman. Didn't they talk a few minutes ago about not talking about their partner's perfect- and ultimate-levels anymore?

"Davis..." the blue dragon spoke softly, so that the others could not hear him.

"Sorry," he said, looking at him apologetically.

Veemon shook his head and sighed heavily.

"Hey..." Davis tried to cheer him up: "Cheer up."

"I know," he sighed heavily.

"What is it all about?" Dorumon suddenly asked.

"Huh?" this had surprised the red-brown-haired man.

"As you know, Dorumon... I can't digivolve normally anymore," Veemon said.

"That's... I'm sorry," the purple Digimon looked down on the back of Ornithmon: "You really can't digivolve normally anymore."

"No, no. It's okay," Veemon replied: "Izzy said I collect energy... I don't know if it's true, but it would explain my current state."

"I see... And when will it happen?"

"We don't know," Davis replied instead of his partner.

"But I hope soon!" cried the blue dragon.

The other DigiDestined and their partners looked at the three tacitly. Then they turned to a personal conversation again.

"I hope too!" smiled the purple Digimon: "What will your ultimate-level look like?"

"We don't know that either," the red-brown-haired man replied slightly annoyed, rolling his eyes.

"Hm... Maybe I will digivolve to... an ultra-cool Digimon that is even stronger than Seraphimon!" said Veemon euphorically.

"Like MegaAngemon!" joked Davis.

"We both know it's never going to happen," he slightly thrust his elbow into Davis' side.

"I want you to reach your ultimate-level really soon. I'd love to fight it," Dorumon said.

"Really?" the blue dragon sounded astonished.

"Why not!" the purple Digimon waved his tail slightly: "Of course only if you're new digivolution turns out to be an ultimate-level… But I honestly don't think your new digivolution will be a ultimate-level digimon."

"I'll show you! Guaranteed I will be an ultimate-level digimon!" exclaimed Veemon upset.

The purple Digimon laughed brightly. Basically, he didn't laugh at him, but he laughed because he wanted to encourage the blue dragon. But this backfired. Veemon growled insulted and turned his back on the red dragon.

"Oh come on. Are you offended now?" asked Dorumon.

"Yes," replied the blue dragon.

"I think he just wanted to encourage you, Veemon," Davis said.

"That's what I wanted!" the red dragon confirmed the words.

Suddenly Cody had to sneeze.

"Brr... It's cold..." the boy rubbed over his upper arms.

"Are we already there?" was the astonished question of the red-brown-haired man.

"Not quite yet. But I can see a ship in the distance," Ornithmon said.

Like Phoenixmon, he had sharp eyes. It occurred to the bird that he should fight against the phoenix. They were both Digimon, who resembled a bird. Although... Phoenixmon would have an advantage. She had already reached her ultimate-level just over a year ago. He has only been fighting UlforceVeedramon since yesterday.

"Great!" Yolei rejoiced: "Then you can rest."

"Yes... It's hard to keep my ultimate-level," Ornithmon said.

"I can understand," Armadillomon said: "It's also difficult. You use a lot more energy than usual."

"Ask me what it will be like in the real world... Are we going to be exhausted even more quickly?" asked Minomon.

"We don't know that until we're back in our world," Ken said.

"But I think your energy consumption will be the same." Cody said.

"Good!" the bird shouted, "I land now!"

Ornithmon flapped vigorously with his two wings and tried to land on the ship that was swimming on a lake. However, when his claws touched the terrain, the means of transport began to tilt to the side, forcing him to land elsewhere. But as soon as he wanted to fly up, he turned back to Poromon, causing everyone to fall on on the deck of the ship. Half swearing, Davis straightened up and rubbed his hip.

"Man... Couldn't you have turned back into Poromon a little later?" he complained.

"Sorry. I couldn't keep my ultimate-level," the in-training digimon apologized.

"Look at it positively, Davis," Yolei replied, "We didn't end up in the water."

"Brr... The very thought makes me freeze more," Cody said.

"Yes..." Armadillomon agreed with him: "I would have sunk like a stone."

"You have an armor-digivolution that can swim," Veemon recalled.

"Uh..." the armadillo looked to the ground and scratched it with his foot.

"We can't do armour-digivoltuion since we are able to digivolve to our perfect-level," Poromon said.

"What?!" the red-brown-haired man said in horror.

"Yes..." Minomon confirmed: "We can't do armour-digivolution anymore."

"And?" asked Dorumon, "Perfect-levels are stronger than an armour-digivolution, or am I wrong?"

"No, you're not wrong... But our partners are losing some useful skills," said the young woman: "For example, my partner could become a ninja and jump meter high."

"Or just that Armadillomon could swim because of an armour-digivolution," Cody added.

"Hm... that's bad again," said the purple Digimon.

"I don't mind," Armadillomon replied: "Sure. I think it's a pity I can't swim anymore, but I've become stronger and can protect Cody better."

"That's good again. It's always good to be able to protect those you want to protect," Dorumon smiled.

The group talked for a while until night. Then they went into the ship. But soon after, the purple Digimon came out again and watched the stars. In his eyes lay a longing look, while he sighed several times. Veemon, who couldn't sleep himself, also went out. He himself seemed a little depressed and at first did not notice Dorumon at all. It was only when he called him that he noticed his existence and joined him.

"Can't you sleep?" the purple Digimon asked him.

"Yes..." replied the blue dragon.

"Hey... I know you're in a conflict, but you should never forget that you have friends who support you."

"That's right..." he took a short break: "Say... Can you create distortions?"

"Where does that come from?"

"I'm only surprised all the time that you've gotten into a distortion in the human world... Normally, distortions do not seem to be so convenient."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just surprised..."

Dorumon remained silent and looked at the water of the lake. The waves gently hit the ship and rocked it like that. The purple Digimon sighed and gazed into Veemon's brown eyes. He was exposed to serious eyes, which somehow appeared familiar to the blue dragon.

"Are you..." he broke off.

How did he suddenly come up with this idea?

"Who am I? Do you want to know?" asked Dorumon in a serious voice.

"No... I only briefly thought that your expression, if you look or speak seriously, seems familiar to me..." his gaze turned to the side, then again into the eyes of his counterpart.

"Veemon... I-"

A green laser raced towards the ship from the other end of the lake and struck the side. The means of transport threatened to overturn, while the purple Digimon and Veemon tried to hold on to the parapet. Luckily, the ship did not tip.

"What was that?!" the blue dragon said in horror.

Davis and his friends came to the deck and Yolei asked:

"What's going on?!"

"Someone attacked the ship," Veemon said.

Dorumon, meanwhile, began to growl. His entire body was tense as he looked at the other end of the lake with his eyes narrowed. At fast speed, a Digimon raced towards the ship. At first, the group could not identify who exactly it was. But as the stranger approached, they recognized him.

"Alphamon?!" Cody said, terrified.

"Damn!" shouted the red-brown-haired man.

"We have to land. It's too insecure here," Ken said, and began to run, closely followed by Wormmon.

The other DigiDestined, their partners and Dorumon also rushed ashore and into an icy valley. Basically, it was exactly the same valley where Gennai attacked the other DigiDestined with a Machinedramon and where Biyomon and Patamon reached their ultimate-level.

As the group tried to run up a path, Alphamon raced over their heads and landed on the ground, blocking their path. Then the black knight pointed his right palm on a rock and fired a green laser.

The rock broke and rocks crashed to the ground with a loud noise. Now the only escape route was blocked. With his teeth gnashing, Davis looked behind him, then to Veemon.

"Digimental of courage, up!" shouted the red-brown-haired man.

"Veemon armour-digivolve to... Flamedramon!"

"We should digivolve to our perfect-levels!" suggested Wormmon.

"Okay!" replied Armadillomon.

"This time we're not going to lose so easily!" Hawkmon said.

"Wormmon warp-digivolve to... BanchoStingmon!"

"Armadillomon warp-digivolve to... Spinomon!"

"Hawkmon warp-digivolve to... Ornithmon!"

"Let's go!" said BanchoStingmon, rushing to Alphamon, while Ornithmon rose into the air and Spinomon stood protectively in front of the DigiDestined.

Flamedramon himself walked in front of the dinosaur, spreading his claws on his left hand. Even if he was just an armour-Digimon right now, he would protect Davis.

"Do you really think you can defeat me, DigiDestined?" the black knight asked mockingly, before grabbing BanchoStingmon by the neck and hurling him against the ice wall.

Then he saw Dorumon:

"My, I knew there was another copy of me somewhere."

"Copy?!" the bird repeated in disbelief.

"That's why... I thought Dorumon was Alphamon..." the flame dragon said: "But it wasn't like that. He's a copy of him."

The purple Digimon closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"That's a lie!" exclaimed Davis angrily: "Dorumon is not a copy! He's our friend!"

"He's a copy of me." Alphamon continued.

"He isn't!" Ken argued, "If he was a copy of you, he wouldn't have helped us!"

"That's why he wants to stop me," the black knight replied: "We can influence each other. For a copy, he got an incredible amount of power over me. He prevented me from carrying out my plans a few times... Through him, I have tried to spread mistrust among humans and their partners. Every time one of us gets a headache, the other has tried to take over the body for a short time. Which, by the way, had only worked twice, back then in Eldoradimon and in another incident."

"Tai had told us about it..." Cody raved when he recalled.

"However, I'm going to erase my copy now so I'm not bothered by it anymore."

Spinomon growled furiously and raced towards him despite the warning from Flamedramon. Alphamon jumped to the side and slammed his knee into the side of the dinosaur, causing him to fall to the side. The flame dragon had to swallow heavily.

Ornithmon rushed to the black knight and wanted to chase his claws into him. But he, too, was defeated by the black knight. He had fired a green laser at him, causing the bird to slam to the ground and leave him lying motionless.

"Even if your partners had reached the ultimate-level... They're still too weak," Alphamon said, pointing his palm at the group.

"I'm not your copy!" Dorumon suddenly shouted, "I was never your copy! I'm a completely different Digimon! I don't even know you!"

The purple Digimon hoped that he could convince the DigiDestined that he was not a copy.

"Do you really think that's true, copy?" the black knight asked him.

"I'm not your copy! Please, you must believe me!" cried Dorumon.

But the DigiDestined doubted him. What Alphamon said sounded far more credible than what the purple Digimon said. The black knight pointed his left palm at the group. Dorumon briefly closed his eyes before opening them again. The eyes flashed briefly in a red colour. Then he bit his left arm vigorously. Alphamon shrugged and lowered his arm.

"You… are his copy," Davis quipped.

"Well, yeah. I'm his copy!" the purple Digimon exclaimed: "Flamedramon! Kill me! I have a stable connection to Alphamon, if you kill me, you will kill him too."

"Do you really think the connection is so stable?" the black knight questioned, stomping his foot to the ground.

"What?!" Dorumon's eyes widened: "How? The connection is gone?!"

"How naive" Alphamon laughed, before his arm rushed to his copy.

He grabbed him and slammed him against the ice wall. The purple Digimon coughed for air as it was completely squeezed out of his lungs.

"Alpha... mon...", Dorumon panted angrily: "I..."

"Flamedramon! You can move! Do something!" shouted Cody.

"No... I..." he shook his head.

He was far too weak to help the purple Digimon who struggled to get free.

"Farewell, my last copy." Alphamon shot a green laser at Dorumon, who screamed briefly before turning into data.

With a sinister laugh, the black knight absorbed the data. He then sighed relaxed before turning to the DigiDestined and Flamedramon.

"Dorumon..." the young woman extoled as she held her hands in front of her mouth.

"Last time my copy saved you... This time, however..." he raised his hand and fired a laser at the flame dragon.

Flamedramon broke with his back through the rock blockage and stayed near the lake before returning to Veemon. Davis ran furiously towards Alphamon. He knew he didn't have a chance, but he didn't just want to stand idly by. The black knight laughed briefly and fired another laser. This time towards the red-brown-haired. Davis was thrown several feet into the lake. It had been foolish of him. He had not lost consciousness as a result of the attack, but he noticed that he could no longer move his body due to the pain. The red-brown-haired man felt the water enveloping his body. He wanted to swim to get to the surface, but because of the pain he couldn't.

"DAVIS!" Veemon screamed, jumping into the lake.


	34. Chapter 34 - New Strength

Chapter 34 – New Strength

"DAVIS!," Veemon screamed, jumping into the lake.

He wanted to save his best friend. But he, too, lacked any strength due to the short, unequal battle with Alphamon. He also knew where Davis was thrown into the water. The blue dragon swam with its remaining power. He had to save the red-brown-haired man. He had to!

When he reached the spot where he suspected his friend, he took a deep breath and dived down. The visibility was poor because of the night and he couldn't even identify Davis at first. Then his brown eyes saw him and he swam to him. His arm reached out to his friend and he tried to reach him. Eventually, he could get Davis's wrist. The red-brown-haired man smiled happily and wanted to close the blue dragon in his arms.

But he couldn't because of the pain caused by Alphamon's attack. Veemon realized what Davis wanted and swam to him with a powerful move before putting his narrow arms around his friend's body. The red-brown-haired man closed his eyes with delight. Slowly, his air became scarce. He was already a good two minutes under water and slowly his breath became too short. The rising panic in him was easily resolved by the presence of his partner. Against his will, Davis opened his mouth to gasp for air. However, only water entered his lungs.

/Davis.../, Veemon thought: /Damn! I can't help him... I'm too weak to bring it to the surface!/

/Veemon... let go... otherwise.../, again the mouth of the red-brown-haired man opened and again he swallowed water.

Both sank deeper and deeper and further away the surface.

/I can't do anything... We both will die.../, the blue dragon crunched with his teeth.

_No! This is not the end!_, Veemon suddenly heard his voice: _It is the beginning of something new, of a miracle! The time is ripe. You have gathered enough energy. Now that energy is unfolding._

/What? But I don't know how./

_Just do it!_, pressed the voice: _It's like a normal digivolution._

Veemon wrapped himself in a golden light that shone so brightly that even the water surface illuminated. The light even enveloped Davis, who looked at the blue dragon with his eyes wide open. And then he saw it: the appearance of his partner changed. He grabbed him with one hand and shot out of the water. The red-brown-haired man struggled for air and coughed several times while his partner looked at Alphamon with angry eyes.

"That's..." Ken broke off, because he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Veemon digivolved to..." Yolei also broke off.

"Magnamon!" cried Cody.

Shortly Veemon's new digitation looked at the three DigiDestined. His brown eyes drifted away from them to Davis, whom he held with one arm pressed to his body, then to Alphamon. His golden armour covered his forearms and legs, shoulders, feet, hips, chest and head. Although the feet were also covered by the golden armour, the hands were not and revealed three light grey claws on each of the hand. The muscular upper arms were embroidered with blue scales like the hands, back, thighs and knees, the neck, the back of the head and the tail. On the abdomen and neck were white silvery scales and stood in stark contrast to the light, golden armour. On the hip protection was a symbol that bore similarities to a spearhead. On the helmet sat a large, golden V, while two ears could be seen from the blue back of the head.

It had been four years since Veemon had digivolved to Magnamon. Back in the fortress of the Digimon Emperor when they tried to fight Kimeramon, a fusion of several Digimon. Davis and DemiVeemon with the help of Wormmon got to the DigiMental of Kindness, which was transformed into a golden DigiMental by the Sovereigns. As the red-brown-haired man approached the DigiMental, his partner was able to digivolve to Veemon and then to Magnamon, who was eventually able to defeat Kimeramon with Wormmon's further help. But unlike four years ago, this time he felt a tremendous power that was not possible for an Armour-Digimon. And yet. He was an Armour-Digimon, he drew his strength from a DigiMental. Where did this power come from? Magnamon recalled. In Davis's communication device was a "new" DigiMental the DigiMental of Miracles.

"Alphamon!" growled Veemon's "new" digivolution: "I'll never forgive you!"

Magnamon raced towards Alphamon, but shortly after he flew over the DigiDestined, he let Davis go. He plunged into the depths, but was caught by Ken, who fell to the ground by the weight of his friend.

"Are you... alright... Davis?" asked Bancho Stingmon's partner.

"Yes..." he nodded to him briefly and then looked at his partner.

He tried to hit the black knight with his fist, but Alphamon caught his fist with his hand. Magnamon reacted quickly and gave the opponent a kick in the stomach, causing him to bend. Flaps opened on the shoulder plates and two torpedoes shot at Alphamon. He fended off the torpedoes with green lasers.

/Even that doesn't work.../, Davis's partner thought: /Nothing else I expect from him./

Magnamon wrapped himself in a golden light as he closed his eyes.

"Extreme Jihad!" he cried, letting a golden light circle from his body.

The black knight was hit by the attack and sank to his knees. Davis' partner crept up and also sank to his knees.

/Damn.../, he cursed: /I'm not used to this power level yet... I can fight for just two minutes at most. In this case.../

Magnamon quickly ran to Alphamon, forming a black sphere in his right claw, which he rapidly reduced, enlarged and reduced again. When he rammed this sphere into the enemy, a gold-coloured explosion was created, which hurled both opponents several meters away. Alphamon slammed his back into the rock face, while Magnamon was hurled at BanchoStingmon, turning to Minomon. Davis' partner immediately got up and fired several torpedoes at the black knight. Then Magnamon shouted:

"Ornithmon! Can you still fly?! If so, get Yolei and the others on your back and flee! Spinomon you give him your back!"

"Understood!" said Ornithmon, who immediately went to his friends.

"Wait. What will become of you, Magnamon?" asked Davis anxiously.

"Don't worry," he replied, "We'll come after."

Davis' partner took Minomon and hurled him toward Ken, who was able to catch him. Then the young man, like his friends, climbed on the back of the bird. He unfolded his wings and flew up before rushing away. Meanwhile, Spinomon began to growl. Then he fired blue flames at the black knight. As the flames died down, Alphamon straightened up and tried to shoot a green laser at the dinosaur, but Magnamon was faster and kicked him firmly in the stomach. The black knight bent over in pain, but managed to grab Davis' partner by the arm and hurl him away from him.

"Magnamon... I can't keep my level anymore," Spinomon said before turning back to Upamon.

"Don't worry. I'll do the rest," he said, firing several torpedoes at the black knight.

He dodged to the side, causing the torpedoes to hit the ice wall. Magnamon reckoned that Alphamon used another attack to attack him, instead he raced towards him and summoned the OwRyuken blade. Davis' partner narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his head to block the blade with his arm guards. Suddenly, the black knight paused just before his arms crossed and growled furiously before a distortion appeared behind him. Alphamon jumped into the distortion, leaving Magnamon and Upamon alone.

"Why... has he withdrawn?" asked Upamon, astonished.

"I don't know. But..." Davis' partner raised the in-training digimon with the help of his left claw.

"But?"

"We were lucky. I'm pretty sure OwRyuken would have beaten me if Alphamon had done the blow," Magnamon said, flying into the air.

Then he rushed after Ornithmon, whom he caught up with a good thirty seconds later. Davis' partner dropped Upamon, who fell into Cody's arms. Finally he flew in front of the bird and said:

"There is a cave some miles away. That's where we can rest."

"Understood, Magnamon." he confirmed.

"Good. I'' fly ahead. I can barely hold this digivolution any longer." Magnamon flew away and landed at the cave entrance before he turned back to DemiVeemon. Moments later, Ornithmon reached the entrance, and after everyone had climbed off his back, he also turned back to his in-training level.

"Wow... Wow! DemiVeemon!" exclaimed Davis, delighted, and lifted him up, before hugging him tightly: "Wow! You can digivolve to Magnamon again! Wow! Awesome! Great!"

"Davis... Can't… breath…," DemiVeemon moaned.

"Oh, sorry," he loosened his grip and smiled at him.

Then the red-brown-haired man started laughing before his friends also started laughing. Finally, even the small blue dragon had to give in to the cheerful emotion.

"Great!" said Upamon, jumping up and down: "You can finally get back to normal."

"It's not a normal digivolution... It's an armour-digivolution, but it can take on ultimate-level Digimon," DemiVeemon said after Davis let him go and he jumped to the ground.

"But still! I'm glad you can keep up with us now.", Minomon hopped to the little blue dragon.

"You can't keep up with me," DemiVeemon said.

"Why?" asked Poromon.

"Yes, why?" Ken's partner asked.

"Like Omnimon and Dynasmon, I am also a Royal Knight," said the little blue dragon.

"Oh, so that's why..." Cody replied.

Yolei nodded as Ken folded his arms in front of his chest. Meanwhile, Davis' mouth almost hit the ground.

"WHAT?!" cried all those present in the cave except DemiVeemon.

"You... You... you..." stuttered the red-brown-haired man.

"You're a..." the boy broke down and looked at him with his eyes wide open.

"A Royal..." Minomon's partner also broke off.

"Knight?" the young woman ended the sentence.

The little blue dragon answered it in the affirmative, causing everyone to shout what again.

"By King Drasil!" cursed DemiVeemon: "My ears!"

"King Drasil... Are you working for... King Drasil?" Davis asked hesitantly after he got caught.

"Of course not! Why should I?! After Alphamon almost killed you and our friends?! Who do you think I am, Davis?!" he turned away from the other way, somewhat offended.

"W-W-W-Wait a minute!" Yolei stuttered: "Why are you a Royal Knight, DemiVeemon? I mean. Davis had found you in the DigiMental of Courage."

"Like Dynasmon, Jesmon and Alphamon, I was also a survivor of the fight against an extremely nasty Digimon. Like Dynasmon, I suffered severe wounds in the fight against this Digimon. I knew where the DigiMental of Courage was and sealed myself in it until I recovered. This happened a good 10,000 years ago. But because I was there for too long, my memories were a bit blurred and I didn't know how to get out of the DigiMental. Then I heard the voice of the Sovereigns, who offered me a deal. They would seal my complete memories as a Royal Knight... for this they would seek a way to free me. In other words,. They were looking for a human partner for me." DemiVeemon said.

"That means... You have the same age as Dynasmon?!" cried Davis in shock.

"Yes. And? What's the problem?" was the somewhat offended question from him.

"There's no problem," Ken replied, trying to settle before he came up with something: "You've digivolved in the fight against Kimeramon to Magnamon, or am I wrong? So why were you weaker than Imperialdramon?"

"Well..." the little blue dragon sighed: "It was the DigiMental of Kindness, which was necessarily changed by the Sovereigns to a golden DigiMental. In other words,. I was only a little stronger than Paildramon, for example, and could only defeat Kimeramon with the help of Wormmon's life energy."

"That means your current digivolution Magnamon is much stronger, isn't it?" suggested Cody.

"In what ways stronger?" asked Davis.

"He was able to fight Alphamon much better than we did," Upamon said.

"Exactly!" Poromon agreed.

"Which means that he is even stronger than we all are together. Wow..." Minomon marvelled.

"But I still have to practice a little bit until I find my old strength... By the way, that also applies to you." DemiVeemon laughed a little.

"How?" blinked Ken's partner digimon in amazement.

"You used to be stronger and you could certainly have beaten Alphamon with good teamwork and strategy," explained the small blue dragon.

"Used to?" the young woman repeated, "Does that mean you knew Upamon and the others?"

"Yes, of course." he confirmed: "They were my friends and companions. By the way, they suffered the same fate as me. They had severe wounds and with the help of my abilities I sealed them into the appropriate DigiMentals."

"I didn't know we were friends with a Royal Knight," Upamon marvelled.

"Are... We **are** friends with DemiVeemon," Minomon corrected him.

"Right! We are friends with him!" cried Poromon.

"What about Quetzalmon, by the way?" Davis suddenly asked.

"Quetzalmon? Like Spinomon, Ornithmon and BanchoStingmon, she was also a loyal companion," DemiVeemon said: "She helped me convince the three of them that they joined me."

"Do you please tell us how this happened?" Yolei asked him.

"What?" he looked at her, a little bewildered.

"She thinks you should tell us how you met Quetzalmon, Spinomon, Ornithmon and BanchoStingmon and persuaded you to join you," Ken explained.

"Hm... Let me think for a moment...", DemiVeemon tilted his head briefly to the side and thought: "Ah! Now I can remember."

"Great!" said Cody: "Can you tell us, please? We would like to know about this."

"Sure. Sit down and make yourself comfortable." the little blue dragon closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening his eyelids again and began to tell.

* * *

With her blue eyes, Quetzalmon looked at Magnamon. He had closed his lids and thought. Normally, no normal Digimon was allowed to enter the digital space. If anyone did this anyway, the one was killed on the spot. But the white snake was an exception. She was one of the few Digimon who were allowed to enter the room accompanied by a Royal Knight. This Royal Knight was Magnamon, who had known her for a long time.

"What is on your mind, Sir Magnamon?" asked Quetzalmon cautiously.

The white snake knew that if you asked him at the wrong time, he could be very angry.

"Hm?", Magnamon turned to her and looked at her, "What was your question Quetzalmon again?"

"I asked you what you were thinking, Sir Magnamon," she said.

"About companions."

"Huh?" she blinked in amazement: "Companions?"

"Yes, companions." Magnamon nodded and then walked past her: "I think it would be a good idea if I had companions to support me, similar to Crusadermon and Dynasmon."

"Hm... It would indeed be a good idea... But... who?"

"I've been thinking about it before." he said optimistically, "there would be three Digimon."

"Already three? If you allow me to ask who?"

"Spinomon, the Ornithmon on File Island and BanchoStingmon."

Quetzalmon swallowed the name of the last Digimon. She had heard of BanchoStingmon before. He was a wanted criminal who absorbed the data of other Digimon.

"BanchoStingmon?! Are you sure? He's a criminal!" she shouted.

"I. Am. Sure!" he replied harshly: "Quetzalmon. How many times have I told you that everyone has a reason to act as they do?!"

"That's probably now-"

"I don't expect an answer!"

The white snake growled quietly and turned around. Then she flew away angrily, while Magnamon sighed heavily. He sometimes had trouble controlling Quetzalmon's temperament. And he himself did not want any other companions beside her. However, his mentor advised him to do so. The golden knight himself had deep admiration for his mentor Omnimon, who had the idea to make him a Royal Knight. Magnamon respected him and did not doubt the decisions of the fused Digimon. If Omnimon said that he needed more companions, he would need some. Even if Quetzalmon didn't like it. She was just an adult-level digimon and therefore weak, although she could quite resist a ultimate-level Digimon.

Quetzalmon flew over the steppe at a rapid pace. There was only one thought in her. She would find this BanchoStingmon and beat him. Then Magnamon would call her more than just a simple companion. She would get his full confidence and he wouldn't doubt her any more. What did the golden knight think of wanting a serious criminal as his companion?

Quetzalmon's ears shrugged when she heard a hissing sound. Before she could react, however, an energy charge hit her. The white snake plunged into the depths and hit the ground with a loud bang. Quetzalmon wheezed and straightened up. Her attacker, a Megadramon, landed in front of her and looked at her aggressively. The white snake breathed deeply.

"Toltecan Wind!" she shouted.

The Megadramon, however, grabbed her by the neck with his claws and pushed her to the ground. The attacker hissed and fired a missile directly at her. Quetzalmon cried out in pain before losing consciousness. The Megadramon grinned and wanted to kill her, but the next moment it broke into data. It couldn't even be surprising who attacked him. A Digimon with a cape stepped up to the unconscious snake and took her in his arms. Then he went into a nearby forest and laid her on moss so that she at least had it cosy. The stranger Digimon left her briefly to collect wood before returning and setting fire to it. After the fire had been burning for an hour, Quetzalmon awoke again and looked through the area in amazement. Where was the Megadramon she had attacked when she was looking for this BanchoStingmon?

"You're awake?" a voice asked her.

The voice had a strong accent, so Quetzalmon had her problems understanding him at all.

"Y-yes... Where's the Megadramon?" was her counter-question.

"Dead. I killed him and absorbed his data," Digimon replied.

"What?!" her eyes widened.

The initial relief turned into panic. The white snake completely straightened up, but because she did it too fast, her surroundings turned and she collapsed.

"Woah! Calm down, calm down. You have serious injuries," he tried to reassure her.

"You want to absorb my data, don't you?!" she screamed angrily, screaming.

Her body was still hurt by the attack.

"No. I only absorb data from others if they have absorbed data from others. I know that data absorption is a crime. So... calm down."

The white snake breathed deeply and closed its eyes.

"Who... are you?" she asked.

"My name is BanchoStingmon."

"What?!" her eyes widened and again she panicked.

"I said, calm down," BanchoStingmon said.

"Sorry. You're hard to understand because of the dialect," she said.

"I know. Others also have problems understanding me. I'm already trying to train the dialect. But it doesn't work out so well."

"Why? You seem to be very kind to me."

"Thank you. But many don't want to help me because of the dialect. They recognize me as a stranger."

"Hm..." she began to think, forgetting that Magnamon wanted this Digimon as his companion: "How about you try to talk to me. Try to imitate my pronunciation."

"Okay!"

Quetzalmon started to pronounce some words which BanchoStingmon tried to say it correctly. After a while the training was interrupted by a call.

"Quetzalmon! Where are you?! Quetzalmon!" a voice shouted.

"Here! I'm here, Sir Magnamon!" she said aloud.

Magnamon flew down to Quetzalmon and landed next to her on the ground. His eyes rested on BanchoStingmon, who did not know that there was a Royal Knight standing in front of him. The golden knight himself, however, was very angry about the white snake. She walked out of the digital space on her own. If one of the other Royal Knights had seen her, she would now be dead and her data absorbed.

"Quetzalmon. How many times have I told you that you can only move into the digital space in my company," he said.

"Sorry, Sir Magnamon. My actions were ill-considered," she said, humiliatingly bowing her head down.

"And who is that?" the insect man asked.

"This is Sir Magnamon... One of the thirteen Royal Knights," Quetzalmon told him.

"I see. My name is BanchoStingmon. I'm wandering around to prevent data absorption," he said.

"I know," Magnamon replied calmly: "I've been looking for you, BanchoStingmon."

"Yes? Why?"

"I want you to be one of my companions."

"Why? I like to be free."

"I can understand that. But if you become my companion, you have the opportunity to help Digimons even better."

"Okay? I don't quite understand."

"Lord Yggdrasil has a vast network that can be used by Royal Knights and their companions to arrest or kill criminals."

"Okay! I'm in. Under one condition."

"And that would be?"

"Quetzalmon will teach me in pronunciation."

Magnamon sighed but eventually agreed.

* * *

He looked at him in question. Why would Quetzalmon want to teach him?

"I want to teach him our pronunciation of words, Sir Magnamon," the white snake declared, "so that others can understand him better."

"And how did we meet you?" asked Poromon curiously, after DemiVeemon stopped telling.

The small blue dragon looked at Hawkmon's in-training level and sighed heavily.

"Unfortunately, I can't remember that yet," DemiVeemon apologized.

"What?!" Upamon exclaimed angrily.

"Hey... I've only got a little bit of my memories back." the little blue dragon shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't think I'd ever spoken with such a dialect..." Minomon said, "How did it come that I'm now speaking like you? Is that because of Quetzalmon?"

"She only played a small part in it," DemiVeemon explained, "Basically, you've always listened to us closely."

"Okay." Ken's partner nodded.

"But please don't try to pick up on this weird dialect, Minomon," Ken asked.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well... Then we have trouble understanding you," Davis laughed.

"That's right." Yolei folded her arms in front of her chest and nodded, "We could understand you wrong."

"I don't think so. But we always have to listen to you very carefully," Cody said, before laughing.

The group talked for a while until everyone fell asleep. Outside, it finally started to rain. Two hours later, DemiVeemon woke up again. This time, he was back to his rookie level. The blue dragon briefly looked at his partner, who slept next to him, before gently shaking him.

"Hm... Kari...", he muttered: "Your cake is delicious..."

"Davis!" Veemon spoke softly: "Wake up."

"Hmph?" the red-brown-haired man opened his eyes: "Veemon? You know what time it is."

"I'd like to collect flowers for Quetzalmon," he said earnestly, causing Davis to fully awake.

The red-brown-haired man straightened up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Normally, he would have laughed at the proposal, but Davis noted that Veemon was serious. Nevertheless, he wanted to continue sleeping.

"Can't we do this tomorrow?" was his question.

"No. I don't want the others to be there." he also looked to the side: "I want to fly in the rain so that I can remember my new... old digivolution."

"Okay..." Davis straightened up and followed his partner outside.

"Good..." Veemon nodded: "Then just say: DigiMental of Miracle, up."

"Okay..." said the red-brown-haired man slightly annoyed: "DigiMen-"

"Not here!" he snapped: "Do you want to wake up the others?"

"No, of course not…"

"Good. Then let's go outside."

The two of them walked outside of the cave and down a little path. Then they came to a stop and Davis shouted:

"DigiMental of Miracle, up!"

"Veemon armour-digivolve to... Magnamon!"

Magnamon took Davis on his arm and flew into the air. Rain hit them as the golden knight flew through the night. After a while it stopped raining and the two reached a forest clearing. Magnamon landed on the ground and dropped off his partner before Davis began looking for flowers. While he watched him, the golden knight thought where to lay the bouquet. Maybe above the ocean, because Quetzalmon died above the ocean. In the human world, but still above the ocean.

"Say, Magnamon," Davis began.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I wonder which side you are on now. On King Drasil's or on the Homeostasis' side?"

"On none. Like Dynasmon and Omnimon, I am on your side. I just want to protect you humans."

The red-brown-haired man smiled and shouted:

"The bouquet is ready. Where do we want to lay it?"

"We throw it into the ocean. As you know, Quetzalmon died over the ocean."

"Good." Davis walked back to his partner before he lifted him up again and flying both to the ocean.

When they reached the beach, Magnamon dropped off his partner and said:

"Please give me the bouquet of flowers. I want to do it alone."

"Okay," he nodded firmly, and placed the object in the outstretched palm of the golden knight.

He closed his hand and rose in the air before flying away from Davis. Under Magnamon, gentle waves hit. The golden knight sighed and dropped the bouquet. He threw it into the ocean.

/I hope you like the flowers, Quetzalmon... Goodbye. You were my most faithful companion and a my best friend./, Magnamon thought wistfully: /I know you would have faced King Drasil if you had learned what he was doing. Even if I had been on his side, you would have done everything so that I would change sides... But now you are dead and you cannot be reborn... But I promise you... I will never forget you, Quetzalmon... My best friend./

The golden knight closed his eyes to suppress the tears that wanted to escape his eyes.


	35. Chapter 35 - Dynasmon and Crusadermon

Chapter 35 – Dynasmon and Crusadermon

Depressed, Wanyamon looked out of the window. Drop by drop had gathered at the glass and made its way down. It had been raining for hours and the in-training digimon was just sitting at the window looking out sadly. In the room itself, it smelled of fried noodles. Today Sera cooked fried noodles with chicken meat, vegetables and shrimp. Eventually, Akira's older sister came to him and stroked his fur.

"You think about Akira again, don't you?" Sera asked him.

Wanyamon took a quick look at her before looking out again.

"I'm also worried about her," she said: "Shin notices that... I'm powerless... and constantly depressed."

The in-training digimon remained silent. At one point, he sighed.

"Damn..." he quipped: "Where are you... Akira... If anything happens to you, I'll never forgive... I'll never forgive you, Crusadermon."

Sera shoved her hands under Wanyamon's body, lifted him up and finally cuddled him. The in-training digimon was shocked at first, but did nothing about it. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"I... miss Akira," Wanyamon admitted: "I miss her."

He started crying. When was the last time he cried? He didn't know. Maybe he had never cried in his life? He couldn't say it. Deep sorrow and despair flowed through him. Uncertainty and uncertainty were in place. What did Crusadermon and the other Royal Knights have in front of Akira?

Both did not notice how suddenly a charred smell came out of the kitchen. Only Shin's loud curse at least lifted Sera out of her rigidity.

"Damn, Sera! The noodles!" her friend shouted.

"What?! Oh! Crap..." she rushed into the kitchen and met Shin, who had already taken the frying pan with the now black noodles from the stove.

"Please watch out for your cooking!" he cursed aloud: "You would have ignited the whole apartment if I hadn't noticed it in time!"

"Sorry," she said, looking to the ground: "I... I'm just worried about..."

Shin placed the pan on a cork coaster and approached it. Then he hugged her.

"I know..." he replied reassuringly: "You feel bad... But you really can't leave the pan out of your sight when you're cooking, Sera."

"I'm sorry. Wanyamon... He suffers greatly that Akira was kidnapped. I just wanted to encourage him." she said.

"Sera..." he gently stroked her hair: "I know..."

He held up a tear with his finger and looked at it with indistinct eyes. He wiped away the tear, which was then replaced by another. Akira's sister gritted her teeth before screaming at his chest. Tear of tear rolled down her cheeks as her hands dug into Shin's sweatshirt. Her boyfriend put his hands around her torso and gently stroked over her back. Eventually, Shin pushed her into the living room and placed her on the sofa before Sera fell asleep with exhaustion. Wanyamon hopped besides Sera's friend and looked at him.

"I'm sorry..." he said, depressed: "I curse myself that I couldn't protect Akira."

"Wanyamon, stop." Shin's voice sounded rather depressed: "It's not your fault that Akira-"

"IT IS MY FAULT!" he screamed angrily, prompting Sera to wake up: "If I had been more careful, it would never have happened! If I had been able to kill Crusadermon, then-"

"Wanyamon!" he interrupted him: "When I learned that Kato had developed the Gizmon I accuse myself. If I had had closer contact with him, it would never have happened."

"This Kato is Azuma, Kato's younger brother! Crusadermon, however, is Crusadermon! She's a Digimon I knew!"

"I didn't mean that."

"Shut up!"

"Wanyamon..." Sera said depressed, and straightened up: "There is no point arguing. Please... Stop it... It doesn't help... Akira will not come back."

Both Wanyamon and Shin looked to the side before the former hopped away into Akira's room. Mr. Kawa looked after him before sighing heavily. He closed his eyes and rubbed his right hand over them.

When it was evening, Wanyamon walked out of Akira's room again. Sera and Shin watched TV with serious facial expressions. The in-training digimon jumped on the table and also looked into the TV. The newsreader talked about the last invasion of the Digimon. He also spoke about the perceived dangers posed by the Digimon.

"People still think we're so unpredictable," Wanyamon sighed subsequently: "That's ridiculous."

"The power of the media," Shin said: "We humans only hear what the media offer us. Most don't question it. In this example... Most don't question whether Digimon are really evil and unpredictable... Maybe it would help if there were more DigiDestined..."

"Hm... That would be a good approach..." Sera thoughtfully said: "However, I don't think the Homeostasis will soon select new DigiDestined."

"That's right," Mr. Kawa agreed.

"The Homeostasis is lazy." the in-training digimon replied: "It would never act."

"What do you mean?" Akira's sister asked him.

"Had the Homeostasis acted, it would have commanded to kill Alphamon kill, defeat King Drasil and save Akira," Wanyamon explained with a suppressed growl: "It would have ordered Gallantmon and Sleipmon to do these things... And? What happened?!"

He did not wait for her answer. With a growl, he jumped off the table and hopped to the apartment door.

"Where are you going?" was Shin's question.

"A Royal Knight has entered this world," the in-training digimon raved.

"I'll bring you to him?" he offered: "You'd be there faster and you wouldn't have to get unnecessary attention."

What Mr. Kawa had told him was actually right. He would digivolve to Dynasmon in the middle of the city and fly off. He had lied to the two. He was just looking for an excuse to be alone. He was not accused of self-reproach. He was plagued by self-reproach for allowing Crusadermon to kidnap Akira. Wanyamon left the apartment through the balcony and digivolve to Dynasmon after he jumped off the railing. With an angry outcry, the ultimate-level Digimon flew high into the air. As he flew over the clouds, he stopped and looked with his red eyes across the carpet of white fluff. If he had had the ability, he would have lay down on a cloud and just closed his eyes.

But he couldn't do that, and so he closed the lids and sighed heavily. A gentle breeze caught him and made sure he was carried away, as he had not expected it. He stabilized himself again and created a distortion. He could no longer bear to be in the human world. When Dynasmon was in the digital world, he flew through the clouds. He had no goal.

Eventually, he landed on a cliff. The sea slammed against the wall, smashing into a thousand white pearls. He didn't know a Knightmon was watching him. When the Knight-Digimon left again, the ultimate-level Digimon sighed heavily and sank into memories.

* * *

Akira did not know how many days she had passed in captivity of the Royal Knights. She had stopped counting. Why had she only begun to do so? She didn't know anymore. It was perhaps just a pastime. She was incredibly boring since Alphamon didn't visit her. For whatever reason. She got tired of thinking and thinking. She started to worry.

With a heavy sigh, she got up in her bubble and took a few steps. Then she sat down again. Why didn't this Crusadermon finally come? She almost died of boredom. Again, she didn't want to die.

Deeply immersed in her thoughts, she remembered something. When she was six years old, she met a digimon. Now that she found enough time, she remembered it. She got lost in a forest and didn't know the way back. She ran away because she had learned that the parents who had raised her were not her biological ones. As she crouched alone in the forest and weeping on the ground, she encountered a large digimon. It was Gallantmon. She was terrified at the sight of him. Guilmon's ultimate-level asked her what had happened and knelt down to her. Although Gallantmon did not understand what she was telling, he was very understanding and reassured her. In return, she was supposed to promise him that she had not told anyone that she had met him. At the time, she didn't understand why she promised it.

Now, twelve years later and trapped in a bubble, she finally got it. He was a digimon and terrifying to normal people. But she wasn't afraid at the time. On the contrary, she had been really fascinated by him. However, she forgot his existence a little later.

Akira put her head on her angled legs and sighed heavily. She really couldn't bear this boredom any more. Suddenly, her ears heard footsteps. They did not belong to Alphamon, he had heavier steps. She raised her head and recognized a digimon she had never seen before. This, however, had strong similarities with a male human. The Digimon grinned at her and flew up to her.

"So you're Dynasmon's partner, Akira right?" the man asked.

"Yeah..." she replied hesitantly, "And who are you?"

"Gankoomon," he replied simply: "I work for King Drasil."

Akira turned her head to the side and gritted her teeth. The young woman cursed herself. For very briefly she had hoped that this Digimon would save her.

"What do you want?" she raved after a long pause in silence.

"Just talk."

Again she was silent, but Gankoomon could not turn. What did he want from her? Information? She had been trapped here for some time.

"I want to ask you something first," the man began.

"And what? I've been in the bubble here for some time." she said.

"How's Hackmon doing?"

"Hackmon?" she repeated, "I have no idea."

"You know exactly what I mean." Gankoomon raved: "I want to know how he's doing alongside this Meiko."

"I would say fine."

"I'm happy about that," he smiled.

Akira did not believe her ears. Was this Digimon really happy that an enemy Digimon was doing well?

"You know. Hackmon was once my student. Long before the Royal Knights broke apart," the man declared: "Although he was created by the Homeostasis and co-founded the Royal Knights."

"How did he became your student?"

"We Royal Knights are not immortal. We can die through a hard fight. Jesmon died during one of these fights and was reborn. When I met him by chance, I began to train him until he became a Royal Knight again. That's just the way it is. We die, we are reborn, we remember that we were Royal Knights."

"Do you even want to serve King Drasil?" she suddenly asked.

"Do you want an honest answer? No, I don't want to serve anyone, but I'm forced by Alphamon."

"Why don't you defend yourself? I would do it!"

"It's easier said than done," Gankoomon sighed heavily.

"How do you mean that?"

"My student Hackmon can't digivolve to his ultimate-level yet. Alphamon threatened me that if I did not follow King Drasil's orders, he would kill him."

"And?! He would do it anyway! Even if you follow King Drasil faithfully, Alphamon would kill Hackmon!"

"You... have not lost hope yet. But I have it."

"I lost my hope, Gankoomon! No matter what happens, Crusadermon will kill me at some point! Unlike you Digimon, we humans cannot be reborn! And you just say I still have hope?! Hope in this hopeless situation?! Don't make me laugh!" she began to cry bitterly.

The man sighed. There was a possibility. Without thinking further, he reached into the bubble and wanted to grab her. Gankoomon wanted to bring her back into the human world. Suddenly he heard a voice.

"What are you doing with my prisoner, Gankoomon?!" hissed Crusadermon.

"Nothing." he replied.

Without wasting another word, he lowered his arm again and rushed away. He didn't want trouble. The pink knight followed him with her gaze before turning to Akira. By now, she had calmed down again. She looked at the Digimon with murky eyes.

"You know exactly why I'm here now, don't you?" asked Crusadermon.

She could only nod while swallowing heavily.

"Good. One of the Knightmons saw Dynasmon in the digital world," she explained, wrapping one of her ribbons tightly around Akira's body.

She just let it happen. She was pulled out of the bubble, which burst a little later. Then Crusadermon created a distortion behind her and disappeared with the young woman in it. After a very short time they were already high up in the air. The pink knight suddenly stopped and asked:

"Any last words before I gag you?"

She was surprised that Crusadermon wanted something like this. She had found her very cruel, even though she had only seen her twice.

"Watch out for Dynasmon," Akira said.

In fact, she would have wanted to make a stupid remark. But she stopped herself from doing so. Instead, she asked the pink knight for something. Crusadermon placed her captives in front of her body.

"Why? I don't understand you humans. Why are you so attached to Dynasmon?" was her astonished question.

The pink knight had expected something completely different.

"He... has changed me. In a positive sense. Before, I had no friends. Although he can sometimes be quite exhausting... he had changed me. That is what I ask you to do. Take good care of him."

"Let me guess. You don't want to die, don't you?"

"Yes. But I know you want to kill me anyway."

"That will happen. Either I will pierce you with one of my ribbons or you will die from Dynasmon's attack. The latter would actually be better."

"Don't you think he'll get so angry with you that he-"

"You don't know him!" she angrily interrupted her: "What do you actually know about him?!"

She began wrapping her ribbon around Akira's mouth.

"Mph!" the young woman said in protest.

"I'm fed up with your outrageous statements." the pink knight hissed.

She continued to fly. Akira didn't know for how long. Eventually Crusadermon began to land. It was on a cliff. The young woman looked around briefly until she saw Dynasmon.

"Hmph!" she tried to shout at him, but there was only a muted sound.

Without warning, the pink knight raced towards him and rammed her shield into his back. Wanyamon's ultimate-level let out a scream as he was thrown to the ground. The pink knight jumped several meters away from him as he rose and turned around. Dynasmon growled furiously when he saw Akira, who was held captive by Crusadermon.

"Let her go immediately!" he raved, rushing towards the pink knight.

She placed the young woman in front of her and stopped his movements. Akira looked at him with frightened eyes. This expression would probably burn into Dynasmon forever. Crusadermon laughed a little before forcing Wanyamon's ultimate-level to the ground again with her shield. He didn't think he was going to hurt the young woman when he grabbed the pink knight's leg and pulled on it. But at the same moment he became aware of his mistake and he let go of her leg so Crusadermon could catch himself. When she landed gracefully on the ground with a backward somersault, she said:

"I have an offer, Dynasmon."

The said Digimon straightened up and growled:

"Which one?"

"Join King Drasil and nothing will happen to your partner Akira. Otherwise..." she placed the pointed end of the ribbon in front of Akira's head: "She will die. You know that humans cannot be reborn."

Dynasmon suppressed a curse. What should he do? He could not betray Gallantmon, Sleipmon and the Homeostasis for Akira. Again, however, he did not want that Akira was hurt.

"I won't wait forever, Dynasmon," said the pink knight.

Wanyamon's ultimate-level briefly closed his eyes to better consider his options. If he accepted Crusadermon's proposal, he would save Akira's life but lose his pride.

"You didn't want it any other way," she pressed the end against the young woman's forehead.

"Wait!" shouted Dynasmon: "I've made up my mind."

"So, have you?" she hissed: "Well? What is your answer?"

"I..." he sighed heavily: "I will join King Drasil."

"Then lie down on the ground and swear that you will not betray King Drasil again."

"As long as Akira is going to be alright..."

"She will." she assured him: "I promise."

"Okay." his lids closed again, and he lay down on the floor.

Without hesitation, Crusadermon rammed the sharp end of her ribbon into Dynasmon's right wing. He let out a cry of pain, but he didn't dare to rise up.

"You know, Dynasmon... You forgot one thing." she laughed briefly, as the said Digimon looked up to her: "I never keep my promises."

With these words, she threw Akira over the cliff. She had widened her eyes as she fell into the depths.

"AKIRA!" shouted Wanyamon's ultimate-level and jumped up.

The ribbon tore through Dynasmon's wings, leaving a long cut wound. He suppressed the rising pain as he rushed after his partner and jumped off the cliff. Crusadermon hadn't suspected this action, which meant she couldn't react in time.

Meanwhile, Wanyamon's ultimate-level desperately tried to catch Akira with his outstretched arm. Eventually, he was able to catch her in his palm. Now he tried to flap both wings so that they would not fall into the water. But the right wing did not want to obey him. Added to this was the pain caused by the cut wound. Suddenly, a bird fly through the cloud cover and stretched out its feet for him. The bird was able to grab Dynasmon by his shoulder plates before flapping hard with his wings. Just in time, the bird rose into the air and tried to land at the edge of the cliff. However, the pink knight wanted to strike him with her shield.

Suddenly, she saw two drones flying towards her. With a jump backwards, she dodged, only to be caught by a flood of blue flames. Crusadermon threw a glance over her shoulder to see the second attacker. In front of her appeared a fourth Digimon, which tried to hit her with a punch. The pink knight dodged to the side and jumped a few meters to safety.

"Who are you?!" she hissed.

"The rescue team!" one person shouted.

Akira looked at the man and was pleasantly surprised.

"Davis..." she quipped.

Her throat was completely dry and she was visibly in shock. She let her gaze wander further and she recognized Yolei, Cody and Ken.

"What..." she didn't get any further.

"Don't worry." the boy assured her: "We will win!"

"Exactly!" shouted Spinomon.

"She is outnumbered." Ornithmon said.

"Considering that I can't fly..." Dynasmon added, kneeling down to put his partner on the ground.

"It doesn't matter." BanchoStingmon said.

"He is right." Ken continued.

"That's why our chances of winning are good," Yolei smiled.

"Okay. Are you ready?!" Magnamon slammed his left fist into the right palm of his hand.

"Yes!" shouted all the Digimon except Dynasmon.

"Wait!" ordered Wanyamon's ultimate-level: "I want to do it alone."

"Are you sure, Dynasmon?" the insect man asked.

"She's a Royal Knight." Davis' partner said.

"And I'm one too." Dynasmon growled.

"We are not stopping you," said the bird: "but be careful."

"Yes," the dinosaur nodded.

"Just make sure you protect your partners," Akira's partner raved before running to Crusadermon.

However, he stopped a few meters away from her.

"So you're betraying us for the second time." the pink knight hissed.

"You didn't keep your part of the deal... That's why I'm not going to follow mine." he growled.

"However. You can't fly with this wing. So I'm clearly at an advantage."

"I don't need to fly to kill you! I'll never forgive you, Crusadermon!"

"So we will fight until one of us is dead."

"Yes."

Both breathed deeply. Waited for the opponent's blow. After a few seconds, Crusadermon disappeared from Dynasmon's field of vision and appeared behind him. She was ready to put him down with her shield. However, Wanyamon's ultimate-level turned around and intercepted the shield with his arm guard. The pink knight pulled her ribbon over Dynasmon's thighs and pulled out again to hit him by the neck.

"We have to step in!" shouted BanchoStingmon.

"No!" Magnamon replied sharply: "It's his fight. He holds back in the hope that Crusadermon will come to senses. But she won't. If he realizes this, he will fight without hesitation."

"But what if it doesn't happen, Magnamon?" asked Davis.

"Then we're still there," his partner replied.

Wanyamon's mega-level included the band that was supposed to hit his neck with the claw and pulled on it almost at the same moment. He let go of the tape and held the claw. But he couldn't. So the opponent took the chance and rammed her shield into his stomach. Dynasmon was thrown on his back and was left lying for a few seconds. The pink knight wanted to ram her ribbon back into his neck, but Wanyamon's ultimate-level rolled to the left side and almost at the same moment kicked her in the stomach with his foot.

Energy was gathering in his palms and before he even got to his feet he fired two energy lasers at Crusadermon. The lasers collided with the body of the opponent, who was thrown into the air and stabilize herself there. The pink knight stayed briefly in the air to plan her next step. When she made a decision, she disappeared from the perspective of the others. Dynasmon already knew what might come and he bent back instinctively. The ribbon narrowly missed him. Suddenly Crusadermon disappeared again and appeared on his back.

Wanyamon's ultimate-level turned around and knocked the tape to the ground with his claw. Once again the pink knight disappeared and tried it elsewhere and again Dynasmon repelled the attack. This sequence of attacks went faster and faster.

/Crusadermon... Why don't you stop? I don't want to fight you./ he thought when he fended off further attempts at attack: "When do you finally see it? Humans aren't bad!"

"When do you give up? Following a human is your downfall, Dynasmon!" she jumped into the air and landed several meters away on the ground.

Both breathed heavily in and out.

"I don't follow Akira! She's my friend! Just as you are, Crusadermon!" Dynasmon exclaimed.

"Then you are a bigger fool than any Royal Knight who follows the Homeostasis!" she said, rushing towards him again.

"You're a fool, Crusadermon! King Drasil is wrong! If you follow him, it will be your downfall!" he argued, blocking her shield with his arm guard.

"King Drasil is always right! You once believed that." she hissed.

"Once it was wrong, it had wiped out almost all of us. It had ignored the problem with Alphamon and Omnimon for too long! And we got into an argument that a Digimon used so that it could kill us all but four members. After that, the digital world sank into chaos. The Dark Masters appeared and the last survivors of our followers tried to defeat them. Three ultimate-level Digimon you see here were so badly wounded that they sealed themselves in DigiMentals. Then five people appeared and four of their partner became the Sovereigns and sealed the Dark Masters away. However, the Homeostasis saw that they were returning, which was the case. Thus eight new DigiDestined were chosen, who then finally defeated the Dark Masters... All this happened because of King Drasil! If it had stopped the argument at that time, which it thought was not so bad, it would never have come this far. The Dark Masters could have been defeated, and Apocalymon would not be resurrected."

"Lies. All lies! The Homeostasis shamelessly lies to you!" shouted Crusadermon.

Dynasmon looked at her in horror. Then he took a deep breath. He couldn't do more. His former best friend denied all his statements.

/Sometimes death is the only solution./ he recalled.

This was what Omnimon once said as a wild Digimon, who could not be reassured, attacked them. That was the only solution for Crusadermon. He couldn't convince her. He knew that now. But he couldn't kill her either. Or? Again, he briefly took a look at Akira. Crusadermon had tried to kill the young woman. With another deep breath, he closed his eyes to gather.

/So be it. I... I'm going to kill you, Crusadermon!/ with this decision he raised his left claw and attacked Crusadermon with it.

She jumped back, so the claw missed her. With determined eyes, he rushed after her and pushed her further back to the edge of the cliff. When the pink knight wanted to meet him with the ribbon, he backtracked. Both looked at each other. They were silent.

/That will be.../ he thought.

/That's.../ determinedly she placed her band in front of her body.

/The final STRIKE! / both raced towards each other.

Akira's eyes widened, because she somehow knew that Dynasmon would not survive the attack.

"DYNASMON!" she screamed out of her body, before her strength left her and her legs gave away.

Davis, who has since managed to come to support her, was terrified and gently placed her on her lower legs. He looked at her before returning his gaze to the two Royal Knights.

Both opponents were preparing for the final blow. But just before they could perform it, Dynasmon tilted his body slightly to the side, so that the ribbon only swiped his side slightly as his claw drilled into Crusadermon's body.

Wanyamon's ultimate-level gritted with his teeth. Meanwhile, the pink knight looked at the claw piercing her body and embraced it with her narrow hands.

"I never wanted to do that." Dynasmon raved: "You forced me to do it. I never wanted to fight you."

"You... I..."

"I never told you, Crusadermon... If you ever attack a friend of mine, I will never forgive you for that," he continued, "You did it and nearly killed Akira."

"I hate you," she raved: "I don't understand... how could you like… someone like her... above me..."

"I don't know either." he admitted, closing his eyes.

"I will be reborn... and I will... then... kill... you and.. tear you… away… from... Akira..."

"No. If you die, I'll absorb your data so you don't do that."

"You..."

"The Royal Knights... they will never be the same again... But it is okay."

"Good..." she turned to Akira: "You... Watch over him... Not that I want it... Dynasmon needs someone like you"

Crusadermon's arms fell to the side before she dissolved into data.

Dynasmon lowered his arm again and looked behind the data particles. Akira walked to him with shaky legs.

"Dynasmon..." she sounded anxious because the pink knight had said that she wanted to kill Dynasmon.

"Don't worry," said Wanyamon's ultimate-level: "She lied."

"How?"

"She never wants to separate me from you. Otherwise she wouldn't have told you to take care of me."

"I see..."

Dynasmon turned back to Wanyamon and hopped into her arms. The other partners, apart from Magnamon, also digivolve back to their in-training level. Now Akira couldn't hold back her tears. Firmly pressed on herself, she wept in the fur of her partner. All the fear erupted in that moment and she just cried bitterly.

"We should perhaps return to the human world" Magnamon suggested.

"Good idea." Davis agreed, while his partner created a distortion.

Yolei walked to the young woman and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"We're going back now, Akira." she said softly.

The person in question looked up briefly before nodding. Then she and the others went into the human world through the distortion. Magnamon walked at last looking over the area again.

Arriving in the human world, all accompanied Akira and Wanyamon to the apartment of Sera and Shin. When Cody pressed the doorbell, nothing happened at first. But then the door was opened and Sera took her younger sister in her arms.

"Akira... Akira... Akira..." the older sister repeated her name again and again: "I was so worried about you."

"Sera..." she quipped, before hugging her firmly: "I'm back. I'm at home."

Again, Akira began to cry as Shin stepped out of the apartment. Davis and his friends briefly said goodbye to the two adults before disappearing. Meanwhile, Sera somehow brought her sister into the apartment. However, the young woman could not break away from her. It was only when she felt her bed under her that she broke free and let herself fall on the sleeping place. Wanyamon and Shin waited outside the door. Akira fell asleep within seconds before Sera pulled the blanket over her. With a gentle smile, she gave her younger sister a gentle kiss on the temples.

"Sleep well, Akira. And rest... When you're awake, I'll cook you your favourite food," she smiled as she left the room.

"How is she?" Mr. Kawa asked her.

"She fell asleep," Akira's sister said.

"No wonder. It was a very stressful day for her." the in-training digimon said.

"I can imagine. But we should let her sleep for a while." Shin said.

"That was my idea as well" Sera said.

"I'll stay with her." Wanyamon said, hopping into his partner's room.

As he stood in front of her bed, he jumped on it and cuddled up to Akira. He closed his eyes and suppressed the tears that arose. On the one hand, he was glad that his partner was now safe, on the other hand he had to kill a frined so that she could survive. But he knew he had done the right thing. Crusadermon was not convinced... With a sigh, the in-training digimon cuddled up to his partner. As if she had seen him, she put an arm around him and pulled him closer to him. Wanyamon smiled and fell asleep next to Akira.


	36. Chapter 36 - Conversation

Chapter 36 – Conversation between the Royal Knights

Akira stretched out in her bed. She yawned once before cuddling up to her blanket and turning to the other side. However, Wanyamon fell out of her bed and hit the floor, causing him to wake up.

"Hey..." he growled quietly before hopping back into the sleeping place and cuddling up to his partner.

She made a pleasant sound of herself and exhaled. Suddenly the door was ripped open.

"Akira, wake up!" shouted Sera.

The young woman shot up with a scream and finally looked at her sister with tearful eyes. A single tear made its way down before Akira touched it. More tears flowed as Wanyamon jumped on her lap.

"Is everything okay, Akira?" he asked.

She nodded weakly and swallowed.

"Is it because of the-" Sera broke off when she saw her sister's nod again.

The former DigiDestined approached Akira and hugged her gently.

"Hey... If something depresses you, you can tell me. Why am I your older sister?" said Sera.

"Sera... I… I want to be alone right now." she quipped.

"Okay."

She broke the hug and walked to the door. She then took a look at her before leaving the room. Sera closed the door behind her and left Akira and Wanyamon alone. The young woman looked briefly at the door before looking at her partner. He sighed a little and stared in her eyes. There was a crushing silence. Neither wanted to say anything and waited for the other's answer. At some point, the in-training digimon sighed again. He didn't like silence at all.

"Say something." Wanyamon quipped.

"And what?" was her counter-question.

Again, they remained silent.

"How... are you?" asked the training digimon.

"How many more times do you want to ask me that?" Akira replied annoyed, rolling her eyes.

Ever since Crusadermon died, her partner has been asking this all the time. He was just worried about her, she knew that. But she didn't want to worry anyone.

"Until you feel better." Wanyamon replied.

"But I'm not going to be feeling better because of what happened!" she quipped: "You have no idea what my kidnappers did to me!"

"That's why I'm worried. You don't have to be so stubborn, Akira! I'm your partner, I don't want you to just be sad and depressed all the time! You are a good friend and I trust you very much."

Her eyes widened before she put her hands under the in-training digimon, lifted him up and pressed him to her.

"Sorry, Wanyamon." she quipped: "I... I'm still trying to get over with my kidnapping."

Akira put her partner on the bed again and sighed heavily. Then she rubbed her eyes.

"Tell me... What exactly happened?" he asked her.

"I was put in a bubble. I chatted briefly with Crusadermon before she left and Alphamon showed up."

"Alphamon?! Why would he bother to see you?!"

"Something doesn't seem to be right with him... He was kind of very understanding. Anyway. Eventually Alphamon appeared with Omnimon in tow and disappeared shortly afterwards. Omnimon woke up and we talked until I fell asleep. When I dreamed, someone had freed Omnimon. I don't know who it was."

"That means that Omnimon is safe! Why didn't you tell Davis and the others?!"

She cast a reproachful glance at him.

"Did you forget that I was kidnapped, Wanyamon? And I nearly died?" she sounded far calmer than she actually was.

"Sorry. Back to Alphamon. You said he was behaving strangely."

"Yes... He was far more understanding than I expected... I thought Alphamon was... sadistic."

"That was because one of his copies was running free and tried to take on his role." one voice said.

Akira was startled, while Wanyamon began to growl slightly. But the two quickly calmed down because they recognized who the voice belonged to. It was Guilmon.

"How long have you been here?!" the in-training digimon raved.

"Not for long." the red dinosaur replied calmly.

"What do you mean by copy?" the young woman asked.

"Shortly before Alphamon succumbed to the influence of Piedmon's sphere, he had created a copy to take over his position both as Alphamon and as the messenger of the Homeostasis."

"I have a question, Guilmon... Why didn't Alphamon remove that sphere?" was Wanyamon's question.

"That would have cost him his life."

"But he's a digimon... He could be reborn." Akira said.

"Alphamon..." Guilmon closed his eyes: "... would not have been able to remove this sphere... Even if he had died and been reborn..."

* * *

"... the sphere would still affect him." said Kudamon, who was in Izzy's workspace.

In the room itself, all Digiritter and Partnerdigimon were represented.

Only Agumon and Gabumon were not present, as they were in the Digiwelt according to the white weasel.

Tai sat on a sofa with Meiko and Sora. Izzy himself was behind his computer and translated the old legend. The redhead didn't even really listen to the conversation. Opposite Izzy's desk sat Matt, T.K., Cody and Kari. On the last sofa were Yolei, Mimi, Davis and Ken. The Digimon themselves were on the lap of their partners. Kudamon herself sat on the table. She was a little uncomfortable. Because she was practically in the middle of the room and she was exposed to all eyes.

"And what are we doing now?" asked Mimi cautiously.

"The Homeostasis wants to separate you from your partners for your own safety." the white weasel explained.

Everyone in the room froze. Had they interrogated themselves or really wanted the deity... With their eyes wide open, they stared at Kudamon. She felt as small as a flea, reinforced by her size. Her ears hung down and she herself looked at the table top.

"What?!" cried Biyomon.

"Say it again, Kudamon!" Tai urged her.

"Never!" Hackmon was equally indignant: "I don't want to leave Meiko!"

"It's only temporary." the weasel continued, though she would have preferred to jump into a distortion.

"How many times has the Homeostasis been wrong?!" raved Matt, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest.

He just recalled that the Homeostasis nearly caused a reboot of the digital world, which would also have caused the loss of all technical devices.

"You can say the Homeostasis that we will never leave our friends!" said Gomamon, upset.

"Exactly!" Armadillomon agreed with the white robe: "I don't want to leave Cody!"

"I don't want you to separate from your partners either. But I can't ignore-" Kudamon's ears stood straight.

Veemon took a sharp breath, while Hackmon looked at the weasel with serious eyes.

"Yes? Please end the sentence, Kudamon." Yolei demanded angrily.

"The Homeostasis calls for me." Kudamon said.

"Not just you." the blue dragon replied as he felt a tingle over his scales.

"I don't want to talk with the Homeostasis." the four-footed dragon raved.

"Why does the Homeostasis want to see you?" asked Davis.

"The Homeostasis wants to tell its Royal Knights something..." Hackmon said.

"Then we shouldn't let it wait any longer." Veemon said.

"Yes. But it would be best if we digivolve to our ultimate-level-" suggested the weasel.

"You mean my armour digivolution and Hackmon's perfect-level." the blue dragon corrected her.

"Yes..." Kudamon created a distortion behind her, while both Veemon and the four-footed dragon jumped from their partners lap onto the table.

Meiko looked at her partner with uncertain eyes. Ashamed, he looked at the table top before saying:

"Don't worry. The meeting will certainly not last long."

"Okay..." the black-haired woman replied, before she and her friends saw the three rookie level digimon of the allied Royal Knights enter into the distortion.

"DigiMental of Wonder, up!" exclaimed Davis, while Hackmon had already digivolved to his perfect-level and Kudamon to her ultimate-level.

After the blue dragon had completed his digivolution, the three took a quick look before they left.

Everyone in the room remained silent until Gatomon exclaimed upset:

"The Homeostasis only causes problems!"

"Gatomon..." Kari calmed down on her.

"King Drasil was shut down..." Ken thoughtfully said.

"But leave a door, which allowed Alphamon to restart up again." Joe replied simply.

"In other words... The Homeostasis is not very reliable!" said Gomamon.

"You're right!" Hawkmon began to clean his feathers.

"We should not talk about Homeostasis behind hits back." T.K. defended the god.

"Why?" was Palmon's question.

"Um..." the blond-haired man looked briefly at his older brother.

But he shrugged his shoulders.

"The Homeostasis once enlightened us about the Dark Masters, or am I mistaken?" Patamon looked to his partner.

"It enlightened us about the Dark Masters." Tentomon said.

"And many times it took over Kari." Sora added.

"I don't think we can rely on the Homeostasis," Cody said thoughtfully.

"If it goes on like this, then yes." Wormmon sighed.

"It's already crossed the line several times." Izzy said: "I just completely translating the legend."

"Really?" said Davis, astonished.

"Yes." the redhead nodded, "Do you want to hear it?"

"Why are you asking?" asked Matt.

"Okay, okay." Izzy breathed deeply:

"_Thirteen knights, once blessed, protected the world._

_Thirteen knights, once proud, fell into an argument._

_Alphamon, the leader, and Omnimon, the second-hand, started it all_

_The eleven knights also clashed._

_Gallantmon, the Pure One, Magnamon, the Wonderful, Examon, the Dragon Emperor,_

_Sleipmon, the Fast, Gankoomon, the Helper, Jesmon, the Friendly,_

_Allies with the White._

_UlforceVeedramon, the Courteous, Duftmon, the All-Knowing,_

_Dynasmon, the Righteous, Crusadermon, the Rose, Craniamon, The Faithfulness,_

_Allies with the Black._

_Oh, their former protector of the world,_

_Now you are divided._

_Evil attacks you,_

_and destroys you._

_Now you are gone,_

_The world will still exist,_

_Even if they lost your protection."_

There was a thick silence in the room. They were all immersed in thought because of the legend.

"So... uhm..." Meiko began hesitantly: "We already know... who is a Royal Knight..."

"What are you talking about, Meimei?" was Mimi's question.

"In other words. Izzy wouldn't have needed to translate the legend." Tai explained, sighing heavily.

"But I had to translate the legend," Izzy said.

"However. We now know the names of _all_ the Royal Knights." Biyomon said.

"However, we don't know anything about the dreams of our partners..." Sora immediately destroyed the good mood.

"Maybe it's the same case like our partners who remembered that they were companions of Magnamon." Cody said.

"Do you think so, Cody?" Patamon looked at him.

"Sure." the boy smiled.

"I'm pretty sure you're also associated with a Royal Knight." Armadillomon said.

"Hm... That would explain our dreams." Gatomon sighed heavily.

"Your dreams?" Ken repeated curiously.

"Me and the others have had dreams of our previous life for a few weeks." Palmon said.

"I assume we're somehow connected to Omnimon." Tentomon added.

"Why are you thinking that?" asked Yolei.

"Tentomon and the others were able to fuse with Omnimon in the fight against Ordinemon." Joe said.

"Exactly! It was the first time we fused with anyone! It was such a great feeling!" recalled Gomamon gleefully.

"Um... Gomamon. What does this have to do with the subject now?" was Hawkmon's question.

"Not at all." T.K. replied simply.

"Are you looking for the reason why Gatomon and the others had been fusing with Omnimon?" asked Kari.

"Exactly!" Tentomon confirmed the words: "I don't think it happened for no reason."

"What makes you so sure?" Gatomon tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Nothing happens without a reason." Izzy replied: "Everything has a reason, no matter how stupid it is."

* * *

"Thank you for allowing me to sit on your shoulder." Wanyamon said.

"You're welcome. But why are you sitting on my shoulder?" asked Gallantmon, looking briefly at him.

Both Digimon travelled through the digital space to get to the Homeostasis, which had heralded a meeting between his Royal Knights.

"In the fight against Crusadermon, she left a long cut wound on hmyer right wing, so I can't fly anymore." the in-training digimon growled angrily.

"You have suffered a serious wound." the Royal Knight said.

"I couldn't do anything about it. Crusadermon had thrown Akira over the cliff..."

"In the past, you wouldn't have sacrificed yourself for someone."

"I changed. I used to follow King Drasil without hesitation or questioning him..."

"Yes... I was actually surprised that you are fighting against him."

Both then remained silent. Wanyamon was immersed in his mind. He was still very depressed by Crusadermon's death. But at least he had been able to kill her in the digital world, which allowed her to be reborn. That was at least a ray of hope. The in-training digimon also hoped that their next encounter would be more peaceful and without King Drasil. By now, Wanyamon had become really angry with the god. Not only did he force a reboot again, but also because he manipulated his long-time friend so that they fight each other.

At least in-the training digimon was glad that Akira was now safe, even though she had suffered psychological damage. Shortly after his partner woke up in her home, she immediately began to cry. Wanyamon didn't understand the situation at first, but he snuggled up to her and waited until she calmed down. She then walked with Wanyamon on her arm into the living room, where Sera greeted her happily. Then her sister started cooking her favourite food... Even as a young child, Akira liked hamburgers. Especially with a slice of bacon between cheese and salad gave the dish a delicious taste. The in-training digimon devoured a single burger with one bite. After that, he was already fed up.

"We're here." Gallantmon said when he discovered an opaque bubble.

"Huh?" Wanyamon looked at the Royal Knight in question, bewildered.

"We're here." he repeated.

"Ah yes... Excuse me... I thought..." he broke off.

"About Akira?" the white knight suspected.

"Exactly."

Gallantmon entered the bubble before the in-training digimon jumped off his shoulder and digivolved to Dynasmon.

"Wait!" shouted the white knight.

He sounded alarmed, but too late. Akira's partner digimon raced to the ground. Desperately, he tried to coordinate his wings. However, he could not do so due to the injury. Gallantmon raced after him and grabbed him by his right shoulder plate.

"Flap with your healthy wing!" he instructed him.

"I do!" shouted Dynasmon.

"Digivolve back to your in-training level!"

"Too late."

Both hit the floor. The white knight landed on top of Wanyamon's ultimate-level.

"You're too late." Sleipmon said: "You're usually on time, Gallantmon."

"Sorry." he replied, rising before Dynasmon rose.

The two ultimate-level Digimon stood in a ring of three other Royal Knights.

"So... Why exactly did the Homeostasis initiate this meeting again?" asked SaviorHackmon, who was the only one who has not yet been able to digivolve to his ultimate-level.

"We don't know." Magnamon sighed, his arms crossed.

"Hm... The Homeostasis certainly has a reason for its actions." Gallantmon said.

"Really?" Dynasmon looked at him sceptically.

"We shouldn't insult it." Sleipmon said.

"I don't care." Wanyamon's ultimate-level growled angrily: "How exactly does the Homeostasis know I'm on its side? I could also be neutral."

"You fought against two enemy Royal Knights." the white knight replied simply.

"Because I had no choice. I have no desire to support the Homeostasis in its project... I just want to protect the humans from King Drasil." Dynasmon said.

"And that's exactly what the Homeostasis wants." said the six-footed horse: /More or less.../

"I honestly don't think the Homeostasis wants to protect humans." Magnamon said.

"I know, for example, that sometimes it can be quite unique..." recalled SaviorHackmon.

"Hey, hey... You three shouldn't have such an opinion about the Homeostasis." Sleipmon replied, "It has..."

"What has it?!" Wanyamon's ultimate-level interrupted her.

"It wanted a reboot of the real world." said Meiko's partner: "I said to it not to do so, because then humanity would have-"

"_Silence_!" a voice interrupted SaviorHackmon.

Immediately, everyone fell silent. While Sleipmon and Gallantmon bowed, the other three looked rather furiously at the appearing glitter.

"_We know you three don't have a high opinion about us..._" said the Homeostasis.

"Yes... So why did you call us here again?! I would much rather be with Akira." Dynasmon growled angrily.

"Exactly! I have better things to do than waste my time here. Today, Meiko has all sorts of tempura dough." said SaviorHackmon.

Everyone then looked at him tacitly. The dragon man smiled sheepishly and stared at his feet.

"_It had been a good idea to make you Meiko's partner_." the god said.

"I didn't complain." SaviorHackmon replied: "I'm happy, despite or just because of my memories."

"We can see that... We are all really happy that we have partners and live with humans." Magnamon closed his eyes to show his joy.

"Back to the topic..." Wanyamon's ultimate-level raved: "Why did you call us?"

"_We didn't call you._" the Homeostasis said.

"Then who?" asked Gallantmon.

"Me." said one voice.

A digimon landed on the bottom of the bubble and looked back and forth between the Royal Knights with his sapphire-blue eyes.

"Omnimon!" Sleipmon exclaimed with delight: "Great that you are doing well."

The fused Digimon nodded and said:

"I called you to plan the next steps..."

"Regarding the Royal Knights?" was Gallantmon's question.

"Not only..." Omnimon closed his eyes and sighed.

"_We have noticed that a dangerous digimon has fled from the Dark Ocean._" the god said.

"What?!" shouted SaviorHackmon, Magnamon and Dynasmon.

"Who exactly fled?" the six-footed horse asked.

"_We don't know yet_." the Homeostasis replied.

"Do you know anything?!" Wanyamon's ultimate-level growled angrily.

"What we do know is that we have to stop King Drasil at all costs." Omnimon said.

"The question is how..." sighed Davis's partner digimon.

"By killing Alphamon first." the fused Digimon continued.

"Kill Alphamon..." Dynasmon laughed dryly: "How do you imagine that? With Alpha inForce, he can turn back time and then fight in such a way that he does not lose..."

"_We have developed a program that will block Alphamon's ability._" the god replied.

"That's..." SaviorHackmon's eyes widened with astonishment.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Gallantmon: "That would give us a chance against him..."

"But why kill him?" asked Sleipmon: "Can't we convince him to join us?"

"During my captivity..." Omnimon began: "I have learned what Alphamon is capable of. We must not let him run free. It's just like a bomb that could explode at any time."

"But that doesn't mean we have to kill him!" said the six-footed horse: "Alphamon is still our comrade and friend!"

"That's why we have to kill him." Magnamon raved: "I don't like the fact either that we have to kill Alphamon... But it's the only solution."

"Yes..." Dynasmon confirmed the words: "There is no other way..."

"Sleipmon... I understand that you don't want to kill Alphamon." Gallantmon said, "But see it that way. How are we convincing Alphamon to join us? By being reborn, the Homeostasis has the chance to free him from Piedmon's sphere."

SaviorHackmon closed his eyes. When he reopened the lids, he looked to the ground and sighed heavily.

"_What is it, SaviorHackmon?_" Homeostasis asked him: "_You're depressed_."

"Should we involve our partners in this? I don't want Meiko to be drawn into the fight." the dragon man replied: "Alphamon, the enemy Royal Knights and King Drasil are not shying away from any means... We saw that with Akira. Crusadermon had kidnapped her and nearly killed her... So is it right that we involve our partners?"

"SaviorHackmon..." said Magnamon, putting his hand on the shoulder of the said digimon: "Without our partners we are weaker than usual... I can't do anything without Davis. Dynasmon and Omnimon are stronger by their will to protect their partners."

"It is selfish that we are involving them in this fight for our own reasons... But the bond between humans and Digimon is strong." Omnimon said.

Everyone was silent.

"_That is the end of the matter. You will do everything you can to kill Alphamon_." the Homeostasis said, before several bright spheres parted from his glitter: "_That's the program. Alphamon just needs to come in contact with it so that it can no longer use Alpha inForce_."

The Royal Knights looked at each other while the Homeostasis disappeared. There was a crushing silence.

"So... Uhm... how do we use the program?" asked SaviorHackmon.

"No idea..." Magnamon said.

"Hm..." Sleipmon began to think: "Maybe we can just chase the program into Alphamon?"

She didn't sound very convincing with her proposal.

"I'd be frankly surprised if this would work..." Gallantmon said, entangling his arms in front of his breast guard.

"Maybe we should chase the program into Alphamon with a long-range attack." suggested Dynasmon, whose right wing hung powerlessly from his back.

Omnimon looked briefly at this wing.

"What exactly happened to your wing, Dynasmon?" he asked.

"Fight against Crusadermon... She had half-cut it with one of her ribbons..." he raved and could hardly suppress a growl.

"Can you even fly with it?" was the dragon man's question.

"No..." replied Guilmon's ultimate-level: "He can't."

"That would mean..." the eyes of the six-footed horse widened: "You are extremely limited in future fights."

"I'd even say he can't fight..." Davis' partner sighed heavily.

"What do you want to say, Shorty?!" Wanyamon's ultimate-level growled angrily.

"Shorty?!" Magnamon repeated: "Hey! I may be short, but I don't need wings to fly! Unlike you... Half of your fighting style is based on flight..."

"Silence!" the fused Digimon shouted: "Dynasmon, Magnamon! Stop arguing."

"These squabbles drove us apart 10,000 years ago..." Gallantmon reminded them.

"I know that we are stressed because of King Drasil and our former comrades, but we have to cooperate with each other!" continued Omnimon.

Dynasmon suppressed an angry growl and looked to the side. Davis' partner, on the other hand, stared to the ground and muttered an apology.

"We really should separate again. You four..." Sleipmon said to the partners of the humans: "Should return to your partners. I and Gallantmon will continue to try to find out King Drasil's hideout."

"Okay..." Magnamon sighed, nodding his head: "Davis will be worried."

"So will be Akira..." said Wanyamon's ultimate-level.

"And Meiko!" added SaviorHackmon.

"Good." Guilmon's ultimate-level nodded decisively: "Let's separate now..."

"Yeah..." Omnimon let his gaze wander between them all: "I'm going back to Tai and Matt... They certainly missed me very much."

"They have." said the dragon man: "They have..."


	37. Chapter 37 - Alpha and Omega

**Author's note: **The fight in this chapter was strongly inspired by a fight in Fate/Zero. This fight is my favorite anime fight and I really wanted to include it in this chapter in a slightly modified form. Therefore, all rights of this fight go to Ufotable. I don't want to make a profit from it.  
Maybe one of you will recognize this fight.

Have fun reading.  
Kinira

* * *

Chapter 37 – Alpha and Omega

Tai slept in his bed. Sometimes he snorted quietly. This was usually the case when he had fallen asleep in a good mood. But today, as well as the last few days, he fell asleep with a depressing feeling in his chest. He was very worried about his partner Agumon. But Matt was no different. The longer the two were separated from their partners and the longer they didn't hear from them, the more their anxiety grew.

The brown-haired man turned around in bed and exhaled. Suddenly, something tickled him on the nose. With a growl, Tai turned to the other side, but again he was tickled a little.

"Tai..." he heard a voice shouting.

"Hm... it's not even three o'clock in the morning..." he muttered, changing the sleeping side again.

"Tai.", again his ears heard a beeping voice.

"Agumon you know how late it is..." Tai's eyes suddenly burst open as he saw his friend in front of him: "Agumon!"

"I'm back, Tai!" he exclaimed with delight.

Immediately, the brown-haired man pulled the yellow dinosaur into a firm embrace. He was so happy that Agumon was back. Tears of joy swayed down his cheeks.

"Agumon... Where were you... Do you know how worried I was about you?" he asked.

"Sorry, Tai... But I and Gabumon had to do something."

"And what?"

The yellow dinosaur breathed deeply and closed its eyes.

"We decided to kill Alphamon." Agumon said.

"Agumon..."

"It was a difficult decision for us... especially because Alphamon used to be a good friend of ours... But I guess it's the best way. We can't save him anymore." a tear rolled down from his right eye.

"You don't want that, don't you?"

"Yes... But it has to be. Alphamon supports King Drasils, who in turn plans to destroy your world..."

"Will you have the strength to defeat him?" asked Tai.

"I don't really want it... But I have to. Tai. You know what Alphamon is capable of, don't you?"

The brown-haired man recalled that he was the one who kidnapped Davis and his friends so that they would not inform the others of King Drasil's plans. Alphamon was also the one who killed Hackmon.

"Yes..." Tai nodded and looked at him sadly: "It's just ironic... That you have to fight a good friend... But I guess that's why you have to fight him."

"Exactly, Tai. I and Gabumon don't want to fight Alphamon, but we have to because he was our friend."

The brown-haired man put his hand on his partner's head and smiled at him.

"Then everything is fine. Through Meicoomon, I know that sometimes death is the only solution." encouraged Tai Agumon.

"Yeah..." the yellow dinosaur paused briefly before saying, "Would you have said that too if I started working with Alphamon as Omnimon?"

"I... don't know..." he looked to the side: "Maybe yes... maybe no. To have to watch a good friend become bad... I don't want to experience what Meiko had experienced."

"I can understand... Sorry I asked that, Tai."

Both then remained silent until the brown-haired man said:

"Since you have regained your memories at the time of the Royal Knights, you have grown up, Agumon..."

"That's fine." he laughed, "but I still have some animal hunger."

Tai laughed cheerfully and smiled broadly. Agumon also began to laugh.

"You can really only think of eating, Agumon," the brown-haired man said of his partner.

"Hey! Not only!" the yellow dinosaur had to grin.

Tai looked at the clock. It was five o'clock in the morning. So falling asleep again was not an option, even though it was weekend. With a smile on his face, he went to his closet and changed clothes while Agumon dropped on the bed. Yes... he and Gabumon had to kill Alphamon as Omnimon.

* * *

Alphamon knelt in front of the podium of King Drasil. His eyes were closed and he was deeply immersed in his thoughts. He wondered why he had suddenly withdrawn in the fight against Magnamon... That didn't suit him. And rather, he was preoccupied by the thought of who had liberated Omnimon. The black knight knew that his white counterpart would never have been able to free himself... The other Royal Knights who worked for King Drasil could not be either. Craniamon was absolutely faithful to the god, Crusadermon had shown no interest in Alphamon's captives, Gankoomon showed interest, but he could well be controlled by the black knight. So what was about UlforceVeedramon?

The purple knight had told Alphamon that the blue knight had been defeated by three newly digivolved ultimate-levels. Perhaps it was his last living copy. He was able to influence on him...

However, he would have noticed. Or was this hiding place not as secret as King Drasil assumed, and one of the enemy Royal Knights had invaded to free Omnimon? But that thought seemed idiotic to him. King Drasil would have noticed this... In addition, how could the prisoner's liberator remove the virus? It didn't make sense.

Alphamon straightened up again and stared at King Drasil's pedestal. The god was unusually quiet as if it weren't there at all.

"King Drasil?" the black knight asked him cautiously.

"_What is Alphamon_?" was its question.

"I wonder how Omnimon was freed..."

"_I've already explained it to you, Alphamon. I don't know_."

"If you don't know, you're not as almighty as you always claim."

"_Alphamon_!" the god grumbled, dropping a red flash on the Royal Knight.

He bent under the lightning and let out a painful cry.

"_I can't be wrong_!" cried King Drasil angrily.

"Sorry." Alphamon apologized, humiliatingly bowing: /Why did I just say that?/

"_Good... I have an order for you_." the god began.

"Yes?" the black knight looked on the podium with curious eyes.

"_Go into the human world and cause damage_."

"May I ask you why."

"_To lure out the DigiDestined... More specifically, the partners of the Royal Knights Omnimon, Jesmon, Dynasmon and Magnamon. Capture them as you did with Magnamon's partner and friends_."

"And that went so well last time with this Akira... We ultimately lost Crusadermon," Alphamon remembered: "And the penultimate time with Davis... I still wonder how Tai and Daigo came to the lab in the first place..."

"_That was the Homeostasis' intervention. But didn't I tell you to have no doubts? My plans are flawless_!"

"Flawless?" he repeated dryly: "By flawless I understand something else..."

Without wasting another word, the black knight turned around and left his lord. Alphamon wondered, as he walked through the digital space, why he had said that in the first place. It didn't suit him. Immersed in thought, he tried to remember King Drasil's order.

But what was the order again? He had forgotten it. All the black knight knew was that he should go into the human world and do something. But what?

Suddenly Alphamon stopped and looked at his palms. How on everything in the digital world could he forget the exact order? Or had King Drasil even ordered him to do anything other than just go into the real world?

Alphamon closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Suddenly he began to laugh darkly. It wasn't a laugh that could be described as human. There was no laughter that should belong to a digimon. It was a laugh that was so dark and so eerie as if it belonged to one of the Demon Lords. After the black knight had stopped laughing, he had made a decision. He would destroy humanity with his own power. In front of the black knight, a distortion appeared, into which he also entered.

Soon after, Alphamon found himself in the real world. Exactly where he met Omnimon for the first time in a long time. And exactly where he was supposed to provoke Meicoomon, but it didn't work out. Meiko and Hackmon, who were strolling through the passage, saw the black knight and froze.

"A-Alphamon?!" the black-haired woman shouted as her eyes widened.

"What is he doing here?! Has King Drasil-?!," the four-footed dragon said, before gritting his teeth tightly.

The rookie level of the Royal Knight Jesmon's rookie wanted to digivolve to his highest level and attack. But Meiko suspected this and was able to grab her partner by the tail before she used her other hand to force him to the ground.

"Hackmon... What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Attack him." he said.

"You don't have a chance."

"Should I just stand idly by?!" he cried, angrily, freeing himself from the grip of the black-haired.

He ran to Alphamon and digivolve to his perfect-level, before trying to attack him with drawn blades.

"Hackmon!" Meiko screamed, stunned.

Alphamon effortlessly blocked the dragon man's attack with his palm and hurled him against a house wall with a green laser. Before SaviorHackmon could react, the black knight was already in front of him and punched his fist in his chest.

With wide eyes, Meiko's partner opened his mouth to a silent scream as he tipped forward through the blow. Alphamon was sure that he had defeated SaviorHackmon by this attack.

So he reacted with surprise when he rammed his tail blade into the left arm of the black knight. Then SaviorHackmon smiled as if he had accomplished something great. Alphamon grabbed the dragon man's neck with his other arm and collected energy. Meanwhile, Meiko ran to the two Digimon.

"SaviorHackmon!" she shouted as if this scream would stop the black knight from attacking him.

Suddenly, an energy beam was fired at Alphamon. He dodged with a jump backwards, causing the attack to hit the ground and end up in an explosion that also gripped SaviorHackmon. Meiko was swept off her feet by the force of the energy blast and hit the ground.

When she got up again, she recognized Tai and Matt in front of her. Omnimon also stood in front of the two young men. At first, the black-haired woman did not understand why the three were here at all. Her concern for her partner was too great. So she rushed to him and didn't even pay attention to Alphamon. When she reached Hackmon, she noticed that he was unconscious due to the force of the energy blast and the ensuing explosion. Meiko breathed a light, fearing that the four-footed dragon would not survive the explosion.

The black-haired woman bent down and picked up her partner while Alphamon and Omnimon stared at each other. There was a tense atmosphere.

"Tai, Matt..." the fused Digimon said, letting the Grey blade out of the protector: "Bring Meiko and Hackmon away from here."

"What?" Matt said in credulously.

"I'm not going to hold back in this fight... And Alphamon won't either... Therefore, the extent of the destruction will be gigantic."

"Okay." Tai nodded to the white knight before rushing to Meiko and Hackmon.

Matt looked at Omnimon a little more. Then he followed the brown-haired man, who had already reached the black-haired woman and her partner. They exchanged a few words before the blonde-haired man reached them. Then Tai spoke a short sentence to him before they rushed away.

"So you want to give everything. Well..." Alphamon stood ready to fight: "Then come!"

"This will be the last decisive fight, Alphamon..." in Omnimon's words, sadness swung along, but he was prepared.

He had postponed it for far too long. Now, and only now, he had the chance to kill the black knight.

The fused Digimon raced toward his opponent as he aimed. Then Alphamon fired a green laser at him. Omnimon stopped and dodged. Again and again the black knight fired lasers at his opponent, who tried to dodge them. Energy was gathering in the Garuru cannon as the fused Digimon approached Alphamon.

The white knight started to jump and fired his attack Garuru Cannon at the opponent almost without a distance. He dodged the attack and summoned his Ouryuken blade. Omnimon blocked the blade with his own.

Alphamon let his weapon disappear again and tried to hit the Digimon with his fist. However, the white knight slapped his arm down with his Garuru head as the Grey blade approached the black knight's head. Alphamon conjured up a white sword in his left hand and blocked the attack with it. The black knight slapped the Grey blade with his own up and at the same moment also rammed his knee into Omnimon's stomach. He slumped forward before Alphamon attacked him again with a punch to the stomach.

/Omega inForce!/, briefly flashed the eyes of the merged digimon.

The black knight pulled out with his white sword and wanted to hit his white counterpart with a diagonal swing in the neck. Omnimon bent down as if he had foreseen the attack, and rammed the snout of the Garuru head into Alphamon's stomach. He staggered a few steps back as the fused Digimon jumped a few feet to safety. Alphamon pointed his right palm at his opponent and fired several lasers at him. Omnimon repelled the attacks with his blade.

/He certainly used Omega inForce.../ thought the Black Knight: /A skill with which Omnimon can predict the future and change his attacks accordingly... An ability similar to Jesmon's OC Generics on and my ability Alpha inForce... But such an ability has a price. It requires an enormous amount of energy... In other words, I should attack Omnimon quickly and unpredictably to maintain Omega inForce. In as good as three to five minutes he should be completely exhausted. But... SaviorHackmon has implemented something in me... this prevents me from using my full fighting power./

/Alphamon probably wants to force me in constantly usage of Omega inForce with quick attacks/ Omnimon placed his blade in front of his torso: /But he is weaker than usual... Did SaviorHackmon manage to implement the virus of the Homeostasis? Even then... I should not underestimate Alphamon. He's still strong... But he also has a weakness. I just have to find out which ones and then use them. However, it will be difficult. I can only maintain Omega in Force for a maximum of four minutes before I return to Koromon and Tsunomon. Alphamon also knows how to hide his weakness. In other words, I should give everything and not hold back just because he was once my friend./

The fused Digimon let his arm sink again.

/What does he want to do?/ Alphamon narrowed his eyes: /Guaranteed something unpredictable. But the fact that I'm expecting it shouldn't be unpredictable. Well. I'm ready Omnimon!/

/Alphamon will probably expect me to do something unpredictable... In that case, I will pretend that the attack is predictable./

Omnimon raced towards his opponent and already held his blade ready.

/What do you want to accomplish by that, Omnimon?/ the black knight wondered and wanted to stop the enemy blade with his white sword.

But just as the two weapons were about to touch each other, the fused Digimon ducked to the right and rammed the Garuru head into Alphamon's loin before firing an energy blast. The black knight was thrown against a house wall and slumped forward. A tremendous pain raced through him. However, he did not let it be noted.

/That's it, Alphamon.../ Omnimon walked to him and prepared to cut his former friend with his Grey blade in half: /I never wanted it to end like this.../

When he tried to slash out, Alphamon fired several green lasers at his white counterpart. The fused Digimon, who saw the attack coming through his Omega inForce ability, blocked the lasers with his right arm. Suddenly, the black knight rammed his white sword into that very arm. Omnimon let out a cry of pain and blindly attacked his opponent with his other weapon.

Alphamon used his right arm to deflect the attack upwards before ramming his white sword into the side of the fused Digimon. However, he used his injured arm as a shield, which caused the black knight's weapon to drill into it. Omnimon's eyes widened with pain, and yet he kicked his opponent in the stomach. Alphamon pulled his sword sideways from the arm of his white counterpart before jumping to safety. Several seconds passed. Both Royal Knights were immersed in thought, but kept an eye on their opponent.

/I can't use my right arm anymore... let alone the Garuru cannon./ observed Omnimon: /But that also means that I can hold Omega inForce longer because I can no longer use Garuru Cannon... But if I have to use Grey Sword or Omega Blast, then I only have a few seconds left after the attack. In this case, I should fight in such a way that I do not use any of my attacks. Alphamon, of course, tries to provoke me in such a way that I use an attack. Even if I manage to break one of his arms, he can still perform Digitalize of Soul with the other arm. So I have to break both arms... But if I hurt one arm so badly, Alphamon will do everything possible to ensure that his other arm is not injured. So I should break both arms at the same time... However, I can no longer use my left arm, which also eliminates this possibility./

/You'll probably want to break my arms at the same time, Omnimon./, Alphamon analysed: /However, you need one of your attacks. If you use them, Omnimon, you will only fight for a few seconds. That's why he's going to try to kill me in a direct fight. Then I have to see that I do not get into such a direct fight. I know that Omnimon is faster than me and he can predict my movements through Omega inForce. In this case, I will stick to my original plan to keep it at a distance with Digitized of Soul./

The black knight fired a green laser at his white counterpart. He jumped to the side and raced towards Alphamon. The enemy summoned his Ouryuken blade and let his white sword disappear. With a powerful blow to the ground, which caused an explosion, he tried to prevent Omnimon from approaching him.

But the white knight managed to do so and took aim at Alphamon's left side. He let his Ouryuken blade disappear again and slapped his arm up with his palm, while also gathering energy in the jewel to injure Omnimon's other arm so badly that he could no longer use it. The fused Digimon rammed his right knee into Alphamon's stomach and prevented him from performing his Digitalized of Soul attack.

When the white knight attacked his black counterpart with the Grey Blade, he ducked down and slapped his arm to the side. Omnimon slashed out again and again Alphamon knocked the blade away. This was repeated several times as both opponents narrowed their eyes.

/I can't attack him... I see his movements, but I can't prevent him from doing them./ the fused Digimon slashed out again.

/I wonder how long you will endure this, Omnimon.../, the black knight kicked Omnimon's right leg, so he lost the balance while summoning up his white sword again and aiming at the opponent's stomach.

The fused Digimon made a back flip. When he landed, he gathered strength in his legs to jump to safety. Alphamon immediately rushed after him and attacked him with his sword.

/I can no longer sustain Omega inForce.../ Omnimon's eyes flashed before he turned off his special ability: /I will only be able to fight normally now./

The two weapons struck each other. Immediately, the fused Digimon let down the pressure of his blade, so that it was pushed from the sword to the right side. Omnimon took advantage of the momentum, turned on his left leg and kicked his opponent in the stomach with his right foot.

Immediately Alphamon fired a green laser at him, which hit him directly into the opponent's chest. The white knight was thrown away from his black counterpart, freeing his weapon. In it, Omnimon collected energy while he was still in the air. With another back flip, the fused Digimon stabilized and almost at the same moment swung his Grey blade horizontally to the left, unleashing his attack.

"Grey Sword!" cried the white knight.

Alphamon, who had not expected an attack, was caught by the energy wave and hurled against another wall of the building. Breathing heavily, Omnimon watched his black counterpart rise up. Both breathed heavily. The fused Digimon had no strength left to fight and could not maintain its fusion any longer.

/That's it, Omnimon. I see you that you can no longer fight. In the end I won!/ Alphamon thought: "This is your end, Omnimon! Look at it. You can't defeat me even if I can't use Alpha inForce."

Omnimon did not answer. He had given everything. He had been ready to kill the black knight. And yet. And yet it wasn't enough.

/No!/ Alphamon heard a voice in him: /I will not allow this!/

"What?!" the black knight's eyes widened as he sank to one knee: "How?! How can you live, copy?!"

/What?/ the fused Digimon wondered: /What's suddenly going on with Alphamon?/

/Because I'm no longer your copy!" argued Alphamon's copy.

"Be quiet! I'm the original!" screamed Alphamon.

/That may be. But I'm also Alphamon. And I will not allow you to kill Omnimon!/

"And what do you want to do, copy?!" the black knight asked him.

/That./

Alphamon also sank to his other knee.

"What are you doing?!" he asked his copy angrily, as an incredible pain soared through his body and he had to scream in pain.

"Alphamon!" cried Omnimon, and wanted to rush to him, but his legs protested, so he had to stop.

A light enveloped the shape of the black knight and eventually formed into a sphere.

/I will separate your body from you and take with me everything that once belonged to you!/ the copy explained: /This will make me the original./

The ball split and the two pieces were removed. A piece formed into Alphamon, who leaned on the ground with his hands. The other piece, however, created a gigantic dragon.

The dragon wore dark black ribbons, while purple plates were attached to its body. These were on the shoulders, elbows, thighs, chest and head. Most of the purple plates were decorated with a light yellow fire. The silver claws on the foot and hand were studded with several small, red hooks, while the tail tip formed a transparent sphere. At the knees, the dragon each had a forward-facing red-purple claw with a pointed end. Several bat-like wings were held by several thin wires. Between the bat wings there were also red-feathered wings. A silver metal part shaped into a blade sat on one wing and was directed forward. This digimon had no visible eyes.

The dragon cried out and gathered energy in its mouth. Then it fired it at Alphamon. The red ray of energy hit his chest and hurled it against a building. After the black knight had recovered from the attack, he straightened up, but slumped forward.

"Omni... mon..." he quipped, before hitting the ground and turning to Dorumon.

The dragon screamed out loud before a distortion appeared behind it, into which it jumped. Omnimon looked briefly at the spot where the dragon was a few seconds ago, then he took heavy steps to the unconscious Digimon and wanted to kill him.

"_Stop, Omnimon!_" a voice commanded.

The fused Digimon looked at the caller and recognized Hackmon, who was standing there with his partner Meiko, Tai and Matt.

"Hackmon?" the black-haired woman asked uncertainly.

"No... That's..." her friend began.

"The Homeostasis." the blonde-haired man interrupted him: "I thought only Kari can be taken over by it."

"Why should I listen to you, Homeostasis?" was Omnimon's question.

"_Because he is the copy that has become the original_." the god explained.

"I don't quite understand," Tai said.

"_Alphamon has absorbed an independent copy of itself. However, he did not know that he was also absorbing the consciousness of the copy. This consciousness has now gained the upper hand over Alphamon's body and thrown out the corrupted part, that is, the part created by Piedmon's sphere. In other words, Alphamon is back and will support us_" the Homeostasis said.

"That's..." Meiko's eyes widened with astonishment.

"Unbelievable." said the white knight, before shrouded himself in a bright light and turned back to Koromon and Tsunomon.

The god left Hackmon's body, so he hit the floor.

"Argh..." the four-footed dragon moaned: "I had forgotten how unpleasant this is..."

"Are you alright, Hackmon?" his partner asked him.

"I'm fine."

Matt went to Koromon and Tsunomon and picked them up. They had fallen asleep with exhaustion. Tai approached Dorumon and lifted him up.

"What are we doing with him now?" was the question of the brown-haired man.

"We bring him to Izzy. He can rest there." suggested T.K.'s brother.

"Good idea." Hackmon agreed, "I think we all need a break."

"Yes... But especially Koromon, Tsunomon and Dorumon," Meiko said, before they all made their way to Izzy.


	38. Chapter 38 - The Royal Knights

Chapter 38 – The Royal Knights

The eyelid at Dorumon briefly twitched. Then his facial features became a strained expression. A quiet sound of pain came out of his jaw as he regained his senses. He felt something surprisingly soft under him, while it was pleasantly warm. The purple dragon noticed that something was lying on his body. Maybe this gave some warmth.

Dorumon growled a little and finally opened his eyes. In front of him he saw a low table, which seemed very familiar to him. Dorumon straightened up a bit and briefly shook his entire body. At first, he wasn't even able to think clearly. What had happened? Why did he feel so incredibly weak? A throbbing feeling made the whole thing even more difficult for him. He had a tremendous headache, but still tried to concentrate.

"What... happened?" the purple dragon asked.

He looked around and could see three Digimon on a sofa eating different things. They talked quietly and didn't seem to have noticed Dorumon awoke.

"Koromon!" said Tsunomon: "Why do you always eat so much?"

"Hey! Someone has to gather all the energy we need when we fuse to Omnimon!" explained Koromon.

"Well..." said Hackmon, looking forward: "Dorumon is awake!"

"Well, finally." the purple dragon heard a fourth digimon.

Dorumon looked at the said Digimon. It was Veemon who smiled at him kindly. Next to him was a fifth Digimon, Wanyamon.

"What exactly happened?" was the purple dragon's question again.

"Do you not remember?" asked Koromon: "In the fight against us, you were suddenly shrouded in a light..."

"And it split into two Digimon." Tsunomon continued.

"We're so glad you're fine!" cried the blue dragon.

"With you at our side, we can beat King Drasil!" said the four-footed dragon.

"Right..." Wanyamon agreed.

Dorumon remained silent and looked to the ground. He was responsible for so much. Did he deserve their kindness at all? After all, he was the one who had started King Drasil again.

"I..." began the purple dragon, but could not speak further.

"Is something wrong?" asked Tai's partner.

"I'm sorry." Dorumon said, bowing his head down: "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"Why are you-" Hackmon began, before recalling and widening his eyes: "Ah... I see... You don't have to be sorry, Dorumon."

"But it's my fault. I was the one who had started King Draisl." the purple dragon crunched with his teeth.

"That's true," Akira's partner raved.

"Wanyamon!" Veemon exclaimed in anger.

"But you did everything you could to stop you. Even though it didn't work out." Wanyamon said.

"Thank you for the words of energising, but what happened and what I did can't be changed." Dorumon sighed.

"What exactly do you mean?" the four-footed dragon asked: "The Homeostasis meant you were the copy of Alphamon."

"No. I'm the original. I could only push Piedmon's sphere out of my body with the help of my copy," the purple dragon explained: "But I never thought the bullet could materialize."

"Did you plan this from the beginning?" was Veemon's question.

"Yes. I had expected that Piedmon's sphere would take me over sooner or later, so I made preparations. I have created a copy in the form of a Dorumon with the intention that when I am absorbed, a mechanism will activate. This mechanism was intended to get me back to my senses."

"But that would mean you could remove Piedmon's sphere from your body all the time." Tsunomon said.

"If it had been too early, I would have died." Dorumon explained: "I had found out that I could only separate myself from the sphere if it had full effect. However, I would never want to separate myself from the sphere, which is why I made a copy with this mechanism..."

"I see..." Wanyamon said thoughtfully: "What will become of the materialized part of the sphere?"

"How exactly did the part look?" the purple dragon asked: "I can't remember."

"It was a gigantic purple dragon..." Koromon recalled.

Dorumon's eyes widened with horror.

"Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! This is the worst thing that could happen!" he said with a feeling of a tight throat.

He had to swallow several times while the other Digimons looked at him inquiringly.

"It's a very bad thing, isn't it?" said Akira's partner.

"Yes. Yes!" confirmed Dorumon.

"And why is it so bad?" was Veemon's question.

"What has emerged from the sphere is an Undead Digimon! A Digimon that must not exist!"

"Uh yes... And what does that mean?" asked Tai's partner.

"Like a zombie." Hackmon said.

"Ah... Wait a minute! Does that mean it can turn us into its slaves?!" Koromon shouted in panic.

"That won't be the case." the purple dragon appeased him: "DexDorugoramon is not like Meicoomon."

"At least a good thing." Tsunomon said, sighing.

"It's probably going to turn out to be something negative quickly." Davis' partner said.

"How bad can it be?" was the question of the four-footed dragon.

"DexDorugoramon could develop into a Dexmon, which then connects to this planet with the help of King Drasil and then controls the entire ecosystem. So it could then attack people with the help of plants and animals." Dorumon explained.

"That means we have to find and kill DexDorugoramon!" said Wanyamon.

"And how?" asked Koromon: "How should we find it?"

"I... It's all just my fault,." the purple dragon said, embarrassed.

"Stop it, Dorumon." Hackmon rebuked him: "It doesn't help you. You've done something bad, but if you just sit around and whine, nothing will change!"

Dorumon began to smile slightly and said:

"You're right, Hackmon... Sorry."

"And you don't have to carry all the burden for yourself. We are with you, we can help you if you allow it, Dorumon." Koromon encouraged him, before reaching for a piece of melon with his tentacles and biting into it.

He chewed on it for a while until he swallowed. You could see that he particularly enjoyed the piece.

"We can look for DexDorugoramon. After all, we **are** Royal Knights!" Veemon smiled, reaching for a piece of melon, into which he also bite a little later.

"Your optimism is great. But my wing is certainly not healed yet." Wanyamon replied defiantly: "But I have to get my partner back. She's still not doing well."

"But the kidnapping was over a week ago." Hackmon said, astonished: "Shouldn't she be okay again?"

"Humans are like us, Hackmon." Tsunomon began to explain: "They can be just as fragile as we are. I mean, we saw it with you because of the argument. You totally changed after that. So I wouldn't be surprised if Akira changed a lot."

"Akira won't change!" Wanyamon told him, causing Matt's partner to be terrified.

"Hey, hey. Calm down, Wanyamon." Dorumon tried to save the situation.

"He has only become sensitive since Akira was kidnapped by Crusadermon." Koromon said.

"I didn't get sensitive!" raved Akira's partner.

"You're just worried." Hackmon concluded, smiling before jumping on the table and using his teeth to steal a piece of chocolate.

"Speaking of kidnapping. Do you know who liberated us, Dorumon?" asked Tsunomon.

"That was my copy that had influenced me." the purple dragon explained.

"The copy then asked us to kill you." Tai's partner recalled.

"Yes." Dorumon confirmed, closing his eyes as he breathed sharply out of his nostrils.

Suddenly, someone opened the door, causing everyone to be terrified, and Davis entered Izzy's study with long strides.

"Sorry. I only borrow Veemon for a short time." he said, smiling, grabbing his partner under his arm and going out again the next moment.

Veemon still wanted to protest, but they were already gone.

All the other Digimons then remained silent until Koromon had to start laughing.

"That's so typical for Davis." he laughed: "Appears, wants something, and then disappears!"

"Yeah..." Hackmon agreed: "We were in a serious conversation and there's just Davis coming and ruining the moment!"

The four-footed dragon began to laugh, lifting his left front claw.

"Could you please take the situation seriously!" shouted Tsunomon.

"Come on." said Tai's partner: "The situation was funny!"

Dorumon closed his eyes and began to laugh. He didn't know when he had laughed so well last time, but it did him good.

"At least they like the fact that we have to stop a wandering time bomb!" Wanyamon told the rest of the Digimons, causing them to stop.

"You're not a piece of stone!" the four-footed dragon protested insulted: "You can laugh."

"And I want us to get the matter done with King Drasil and the other Royal Knights!" wadded Wanyamon, while behind him a distortion appeared: "If you are looking for me. I'm with Akira."

Thus, the in-training digimon hopped into the distortion, which disappeared a little later.

"I see he's still so friendly." Dorumon said sarcastically.

"He's already changed." Tsunomon said: "But he's always very concerned about Akira."

"Then at least he should admit that he is worried about her." Koromon said.

"Some things aren't that simple." the purple dragon explained, sighing heavily.

* * *

Akira was lying in her bed and had pulled up the blanket up to her shoulder. Wanyamon, who had been there for more than half an hour, slowly ran out of patience. His partner hadn't spoken for quite a while. Actually, she hadn't even welcomed him.

"Are you asleep?" he asked again, because he had already asked her a few things.

The young woman, on the other hand, deliberately did not answer him. She wanted to be alone and, to be honest, drown in self-pity. The in-training digimon hopped on the bed and jumped up and down several times in the hope of getting a reaction from her.

"Do something, say something!" he demanded.

"Fine!" she screamed, and straightened up, causing Wanyamon to fall to the ground: "I've done something now! Are you satisfied now?! Great! Leave me alone now!"

Her partner growled angrily and jumped back on her bed.

"Hey." he said, looking directly at her: "Don't blame me for feeling bad."

"If you had put more effort into it, I wouldn't have been kidnapped!"

"Akira! Stop it!"

"You didn't apologize for it, didn't you?!"

"Because it's not my fault!" now he slowly became angry: "You want an apology?! Here it is: I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you! Are you satisfied?!"

"Yeah. Now leave me alone!" she told him, and lay down again, before pulling the blanket to her shoulders, causing Wanyamon to swell to the floor, closing her eyes: "I want to be alone."

"Akira..." he sounded begging: "I don't want to argue with you. Hey... I am your partner."

She just kept silent, tried to ignore the words. But couldn't.

"I know you're listening to me. I know you can't ignore me. So I ask you. What is wrong with you?" was his question.

"I just want to forget it." she quipped as she tried to hide her tears: "I want to forget the whole kidnapping. Do you know what it's like when you barely escaped death?"

"Yes. I was a Royal Knight. I faced death several times." he said, "It changes you..."

"It's only been a week since Crusadermon tried to kill me, but..." she whimpered: "I have nightmares about that. I dream that you wouldn't be able to catch me and I drown in the ocean. Or that you would pierce me with one of your claws."

"Hey, this didn't happen... I am with you. Nothing can happen to you now." he tried to reassure her.

"How can you say something like that?!" she yelled at him and straightened up again as she flipped the blanked back.

"What?" his eyes widened with horror.

"How can you say something like that?!" she repeated the sentence.

"Right. I am sorry. I constantly blame myself for this, but unlike you, I don't drown in self-pity." he tried to remain as calm as possible.

"What should I do then?! How am I supposed to deal with it?!" she yelled at him, before she began to cry bitterly.

"Akira..." he said, hopping toward her.

He comforted his body by her stomach.

"Why..." she sniffed: "Why am I a DigiDestined? Why are you my partner? Why do I have to experience so much suffering?"

"There are questions you can't get an answer... Unfortunately, I can't answer your questions. But I am with you. I want to protect you. I **can** protect you, so I don't cry." he comforted her.

"I know... Thank you, Wanyamon." she said after a while, smiling softly at him.

"You don't have to come along when I'm fighting the bad guys." he said.

"You idiot."

"Hey!" the in-training digimon exasperated.

"You're only strong because you want to protect me."

"That's probably true."

She started to laugh slightly, while Wanyamon began to grin. Both did not notice how Sera opened the door.

"Akira, Wanyamon." she shouted, "Davis and Veemon are visiting."

"Huh?" the young woman said in amazement.

"What do they want here? Apart from the fact that Veemon is also a Royal Knight, I can't explain why they want to see us." Wanyamon said.

"I don't know why they're here." the older sister said, as Davis squeezed between her and the door frame.

"Hello!" he shouted with a smile on his lips.

"I'll leave you alone. Do you want to have snacks?" asked Sera.

"No, no." Veemon replied, "We're only here for a short time."

"Okay." the older sister disappeared again before the red-brown-haired man closed the door behind him and his partner.

"So... What do you want here?" was Akira's question, narrowing her eyes.

"Sounds like you're insinuating something suspicious to us." Davis scratched his head: "I just wanted to ask you something."

"And what?"

"How did your... How did your sister take it?" the red-brown-haired man asked hesitantly.

"What?" she tilted her head to the side.

"Well... erm..."

"Davis says how well Sera and Shin coped when you told them you were a DigiDestined." Veemon explained.

"Pretty good. After all, they were DigiDestined as well." Akira said.

"My parents and my idiot sister didn't take it very well." Davis said.

"I thought you'd told them before." Wanyamon grumbled.

"No... I don't." the red-brown-haired man looked on the floor a little shyly.

"So you told them today?" the young woman sounded astonished.

"Well..." he looked to the side, then to the ceiling, before his gaze turned into her eyes: "Yes."

"Why?!" the in-training digimon asked, disenchanted: "I can understand if you don't want to tell someone right away..."

"I have asked him many times... He only managed to tell them today, after three years!" the blue dragon crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Yolei took three years, too!" exclaimed Davis.

"But... In addition to her parents, she also has three siblings!" argued Veemon: "You only have one sister, June!"

"That's why."

"If you want to argue, do it somewhere else!" Akira shouted: "I don't want you to live out your personal disputes here!"

Both the red-brown-haired man and his partner were silent and looked at the young woman. Davis then muttered an apology and left the room with Veemon as quickly as he had come.

"That idiot." she scolded.

"You know what I noticed. You often argue with people you like." Wanyamon said.

"What? Do you mean I have a crush on Davis?! Are you mad?! He's not my type at all!"

"Sure?" he teased her.

"For me, there's only Jack!"

"You could call him. He still doesn't know you're back home." he reminded her with a dry tone.

"Right!" her eyes widened before she rushed out of her room to grab a phone.

* * *

Examon flapped vigorously with his larger pair of wings to keep himself in the air. The midday sun warmed his back, while his eyes were on the far away. Eventually, Elecmon relied on his help to protect Primary Village. The Dragon Emperor briefly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been in the air for good five hours and slowly his muscles got tired. He would like to land once to rest for a short time, but he was not allowed to. He had to stay up for at least an hour. Suddenly, his eyes caught something purple.

/Isn't that?/ Examon himself wondered.

He raced towards the ground. The closer he approached the stranger, the more clearly he could see him. It was Craniamon, one of the Royal Knights. And someone who worked for King Drasil. The Dragon Emperor landed in front of him and folded his wings.

"What are you doing here?" was Examon's question.

"Just see if you're doing well." the purple knight replied.

"Sorry, Craniamon, but I don't believe you." the Dragon Emperor gritted his teeth.

"Good." he summoned his spear and tried to ram it into Examon.

He slapped the weapon away with his long tail. However, he took advantage of the momentum and rammed his knee into the Dragon Emperor's stomach. He could only growl furiously before being thrown to the ground by another punch, this time by the fist. The attack left Examon, so Craniamon used the wide side of his spear to press it on the opponent's neck, preventing him from getting up.

"For the protector of this village, you have a lot of defence," he mocked him.

"ELECMON!" the Dragon Emperor shouted after him.

"What should a rookie-level digimon be able to do to me?" he asked him, thrusting his foot into Examon's chest.

"Grah!" he quipped.

"King Drasil ordered me to destroy Primary Village" he said.

"Is it... insane?! Without the Village... Digimon... would no… longer be able… to be reborn… again...!" declared the Dragon Emperor.

"King Drasil will ensure that Digimon are reborn."

"You are a fool to follow him, Craniamon!"

"So you stand for the Homeostasis?" the purple knight asked him.

"I don't stand for any side! I have vowed to protect this Village together with Elecmon!"

"Silence! Your decision not to choose King Drasil is considered a high treason." he pointed his spear at the Dragon Emperor's neck: "Farewell, Examon!"

Craniamon pulled out and wanted to stab him.

"Aussterben!" an energy wave captured the purple knight and hurled him several meters from Examon.

He looked up relieved and looked at Duftmon. The green eyes of the digimon saw Craniamon. Then the Digimon looked at Examon.

"That you let yourself be defeated so easily." the leopard knight remarked.

"Sorry." the Dragon Emperor growled ashamed: "_Elecmon_."

"Seriously? I allow you to call me by my real name, lizard."

"You still call me lizard, Duftmon."

"However. The problem seems to be a Royal Knight who doesn't know what his duty is."

Duftmon straightened his sword in front of his torso. The brown knight briefly closed his eyes and breathed a deep breath. Examon flung his teeth and slapped his long tail on the ground as he summoned his weapon, Ambrosius.

"The Homeostasis... King Drasil... No matter who rules the digital world... We don't care!" the Dragon Emperor growled: "We just swore one thing."

"We protect Primary Village, no matter what will happen! Even if we have to take action against our own comrades, it serves the good of the Village!" Duftmon clarified.

Purple energy gathered in the brown knight's weapon before Examon rose into the air and pointed his lance at Craniamon.

"Traitors!" shouted the purple knight, letting his spear circle over his head.

"Examon, make sure he doesn't use his spear!" Duftmon ordered.

Immediately, a powerful laser was fired at Yggdrasil's servant, who was forced to block it with his shield Avalon.

"Ernste Welle!" the brown knight sent a purple wave of energy, which the opponent also blocked with his shield.

"Draconic Impact!" Examon raced toward Craniamon.

His body was wrapped in a red aura. The purple knight's eyes widened because he knew he couldn't block the attack. But he was able to dodge it. The Dragon Emperor could not change his trajectory and if he dodged, he would hit the ground. However, there was Duftmon, who was probably waiting for such a situation. He would use the gap to attack him directly with the sword and since he used his arms to balance through the jump, his unprotected neck would be in danger. So he turned his spear over his head and created a tornado to protect the purple knight from Examon's attack.

The Dragon Emperor collided with the attack, causing several lightning bolts to pass through his body before being thrown by the enemy with a kick. With a dull impact, Examon landed on the ground. Duftmon rushed to Craniamon and crossed with him.

"Don't follow King Drasil, Craniamon!" said the brown knight.

"Why? King Drasil is the only true god of the digital world!" the opponent shouted, turning around his own axis.

Duftmon saw the attack coming and jumped away, so the spear missed him. With an elegant back flip, he landed on the ground with both feet.

"As I see, I can't convince you, Craniamon." he said, exhaling heavily: "Then I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That we have to kill you."

"Then you're on the Homeostasis' side."

"We are not on either side. You just decided to attack what we swore to protect."

Duftmon's sword once again wrapped itself in energy.

"Do you really think I'm going to allow this?!" Craniamon raced toward him.

"Pendragon's Glory!" cried Examon.

The eyes of the purple knight widened. The Dragon Emperor had risen in the air during the brief conversation and prepared an attack. Craniamon was captured by a laser and forced to his knees.

"Aussterben!" a wave of energy smashed into the purple knight's body and hurled him on the back.

The opponent straightened up again and coughed. He wanted to place his shield in front of his body, but he couldn't do more. No, he didn't want more. He realized that the path King Drasil had taken ended in disaster, for if two neutrals in the battle of the gods told him that King Drasil was wrong, then the god had to be wrong. And although Craniamon still trusted him, he couldn't and wouldn't take it anymore.

/Incredibly, I follow your decision, my friend... UlforceVeedramon./, thought the purple knight.

Around Duftmon's sword, an aura was gathered again, while Examon also prepared his attack. Craniamon closed his eyes and waited for the attacks, which then also hit his body. The purple knight screamed in pain before his body dissolved into data.

The two neutral Royal Knights briefly looked at the spot where their opponent stood a few seconds ago, then the Dragon Emperor landed on the ground. The brown knight could see tears in Examon's eyes.

"It was his decision, Examon. All alone his... He died here because of us." Duftmon said: "He didn't know what to do. Should he join the Homeostasis, or should he continue to follow King Drasil's insane orders? He couldn't do either, so he decided to kill himself."

"I know. I'm just glad the Village didn't suffer any damage." the Dragon Emperor replied: "Despite that... He had been our comrade."

"Sometimes death is the best solution."

"Yeah..." he agreed, flapping his wings.

The brown knight turned to Primary Village before returning to his rookie level and rushing to said place. With his ears, he had heard that one of the baby digimon had started screaming.


	39. Chapter 39 - The search: part 1

Chapter 39 – The search: part 1

DoruGremon flapped his wings powerfully. Next to him flew Omnimon, who from time to time took a quick look at his partners Tai and Matt, who rode on the red dragon. The four were looking for DexDorugoramon, who had been forced out of him by DoruGremon's will. But the others were also looking for the dragon throughout the digital world, which is why they split into teams of four. With his eyes DoruGremon flew over the area, when he sighed heavily.

"Are you blaming yourself again, DoruGremon?" Omnimon asked him.

"Yes..." he confirmed.

"Don't blame yourself for something you didn't do." Matt said.

"However, I started King Drasil, triggering a wave of terrible events." DoruGremon said.

"That's true..." said Tai, but smiled and looked at him sympathetically: "But you can't do anything about it. Piedmon's sphere was to blame, basically Piedmon himself..."

"Thank you..." the red dragon took a quick look at the two people on his back: "Despite this, I should have withstood the sphere."

"Don't be so negative, DoruGremon." the fused Digimon instructed him: "Sure, you created a lot of problems, but you tried to prevent them. With your self-made copy, you have regained control of yourself... Besides, you are not alone. We're here to help you, so you don't have to do something on your own."

"You're right-" DoruGremon sighed, closing his eyes briefly: "I'm just constantly resenting myself, instead of focusing on what's important... I'm glad to have you as friends."

He smiled softly at Omnimon as he nodded to him. Then the red dragon breathed out relaxed before flapping his four wings. It was still weird for him to be free of Piedmon's sphere. Before he was taken over by it, he had fought against the influence every day, for every hour, for every minute and for every second. This fight had been very tiring and in the end he had lost it.

At that thought, DoruGremon shook his head. He shouldn't remind it now. He had to do everything he could to find DexDorugoramon and defeat it.

A whistling sound rang out, so that the ears of the red dragon stood up. Purely out of instinct, he began to growl and looked around where the noise came from. Tai, Matt and Omnimon also looked through the area as something approached them. The fused Digimon raced over to DoruGremon and swung his Grey sword to steer an energy beam in another direction.

"What the?!" the blond-haired man asked, looking up at Omnimon.

"Omnimon!" cried Kari's brother, "Who are we attacked by?"

"I don't know yet!" shot the fused Digimon back: "However, I assume that the attack came from an ultimate-level digimon..."

Another whistling sound rang out. The red dragon narrowed his eyes briefly before they widened with horror. The beam wanted to strike directly into him. DoruGremon didn't hesitate for long and flapped hard with his front wing pair, so that he went higher into the air.

"DoruGremon! Bring Tai and Matt to the ground." Omnimon ordered.

"Okay. Hold on to my coat, you two." the red dragon instructed her.

"Okay." Tai confirmed his words, before digging his hands into DoruGremon's fur.

He himself was quite surprised how soft this actually was.

The red dragon finally started to dive by leaning slightly forward and folding his wings. Shortly before he reached the ground, he unfolded his wings again and landed almost majestically on the ground. Tai and Matt immediately climbed down from his back. The brown-haired man suppressed an emerging curse and looked at Matt, who looked around. They still had no idea who had attacked the group.

DoruGremon narrowed his eyes before taking a deep breath.

"DoruGremon digivolve to... Alphamon!" he cried, before pondering how to help Omnimon fight DexDorugoramon.

Meanwhile, the fused Digimon noticed something from an angle of the eye and immediately pulled the Grey blade. In this he gathered energy before unleashing it with a swing. The something was caught by a wave of energy and hurled back, and it began to growl furiously. Meanwhile, Alphamon's eyes narrowed. In front of them was DexDorugoramon, who was fuming and gathering energy in his mouth, which it wanted to shoot at DoruGremon. However, Omnimon attacked him with his Grey Sword. He was still unable to use his Garuru cannon, so he could only rely on melee combat. The white knight swung his sword and wanted to hit DexDorugoramon by the neck, but it raised its arm and blocked the attack.

The purple dragon fired a green ray from his mouth from a short distance and hit Omnimon in the chest, causing him to be thrown back.

After Alphamon developed a plan, he flew to his white counterpart and wanted to help him. But before he could even reach him, Omnimon crashed with his back into him and both hit the ground, forming a huge crater beneath them.

The fused Digimon immediately straightened up, but soon after, he returned to Agumon and Gabumon. The two rookie-level Digimon moaned and went to their partners.

"It was stronger than thought..." the yellow dinosaur wailed and closed his eyes.

"Or we are still weakened by the fight against Alphamon." said the reptile digimon, looking at the said digimon.

"Do you think?" Matt asked the two.

Gabumon nodded and explained:

"We still can't use the right arm as Omnimon."

Alphamon was shrouded in a bright light before it faded and revealed Dorumon. He shook briefly and then went to the others.

"You can't change it, Gabumon." said the purple dragon depressed: "I myself still feel the consequences of our fight and the ejection of Piedmon's sphere."

"Just as I thought." the blonde-haired man said.

It would also have been surprising for him if Dorumon did not feel any consequences from the fight. Matt quickly pushed that thought away. He wondered why DexDorugoramon had disappeared so quickly. Tai himself was more concerned about Meiko, who, although he wanted it differently, was with Sora.

The brown-haired man even doubted whether Phoenixmon was able to protect his girlfriend and Sora. As for SaviorHackmon... he still couldn't digivolve to his ultimate-level.

Tai would be calmer if Meiko's partner had already reached his ultimate-level, because he knew how strong Jesmon was. Or had SaviorHackmon already reached his ultimate-level and he didn't mention it?

After all, he had his memories from his previous life. Again, the brown-haired man knew that if a partner was to reach his ultimate-level, it would depend heavily on his partner. In this case, Meiko would have to overcome her inner darkness, as stated in the prophecy sent by the Homeostasis to Izzy.

"Tai!" exclaimed Agumon, ripping him out of his thoughts.

"What is it, Agumon?" he asked.

"We want to move on." Dorumon said, "Dorumon warp-digivolve to... DoruGremon!"

The red dragon bent down so that Tai, Matt, Agumon and Gabumon could climb on his back. Then DoruGremon hit his wings vigorously and rose again into the air.

* * *

"Let's see... If I were a dangerous digimon, where would I be?" quipped Yolei, who rode on Ornithmon's back.

"In a castle." Magnadramon replied: "Myotismon and the Dark Masters were in castles."

"But you omitted that DexDorugoramon, according to Dorumon, has only a will to self-preservation." the primeval bird replied: "Which in turn means that it is unlikely that it will live in a castle."

"Right..." the pink dragon nodded to him briefly: "What do you mean, Kari?"

Kari, sitting on the back of her partner, looked into the distance, lost in thought.

"Kari." Magnadramon shouted after her.

Again, no reaction.

"Kari!" Ornithmon tried.

But again, Tai's younger sister gave nothing of herself.

"Kari!" yelled Yolei.

"Huh?" Kari looked at the other woman in a slightly surprised way: "What did you say, Yolei?"

"Magnadramon asked you something," she explained.

"Oh, sorry. I was immersed in my thoughts..." she admitted, somewhat embarrassedly: "So, what did you ask me, Magnadramon?"

"Where DexDorugoramon could be." her partner replied.

"Hm..." Kari thought briefly, but then she shook her head: "I have no idea."

Yolei sighed heavily. She remembered how the teams were split. Tai and Matt were in a team, as Agumon and Gabumon were able to form Omnimon. She and Kari were in a team because they got along well, as were Meiko and Sora. But the other teams were strange.

Why did Ken have to be on a team with Joe, Mimi with Cody and Davis with T.K.? Especially with Davis and T.K., the young woman had her concerns. Both were constantly arguing. So wouldn't it have been better to team up Davis with Ken and T.K. with Joe?

"What are you thinking, Yolei?" Ornithmon asked her.

"Huh?" she blinked in amazement: "I just wonder why Davis is on a team with T.K. and Ken with Joe. I mean... Davis and T.K. don't really understand each other and Joe would be better off with someone else, for example with Mimi or even with Izzy."

"Hm..." Kari pondered: "You're right. But Davis and T.K. in particular can work well together, even though they often argue. Everyone respects the other and tolerates his opinion, which cannot be more different. However, the strong differences of opinion allow them to produce very good solutions. That's why I think they're in a team."

"Why do you think so?" was Magnadramon's question.

"Because T.K. had told me." smiled the brown-haired woman, brushing over her partner's velvet fur.

"You have a crush on T.K., haven't you?" suddenly Yolei smiled.

"I-I have not!" she cried, turning her head away so that her friend would not see her reddened cheeks and so that she would not receive the confirmation.

However, turning her head away alone was a confirmation for Yolei.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to tell him." Ornithmon's partner said with a wink.

"Thank you..." said Kari, again petting Magnadramon's fur.

"You like my fur very much, or Kari?" the pink dragon asked her: "As often as you pet it..."

"Your fur is so soft, Magnadramon. I feel like I'm on a cloud when I ride on you..." she enthused, lying flat on her partner's body to feel even more fur on her skin.

"I get jealous..." Yolei muttered, brushing Ornithmon over his feathers, which were on his back.

"Hey! I can't do anything about the fact that I don't have a soft coat!" complained the primeval bird.

"Come on... You're certainly faster than some other Digimon, aren't you?"

"I'm rather slow compared to other bird like Digimon."

"You only say this because you're offended, Ornithmon." Magnadramon said.

"I'm just jealous!" the primeval bird corrected her: "I wish my feathers would be so soft."

"Hm?" the pink dragon saw something in the distance.

"There's someone here." Ornithmon replied.

"Really who?" was Yolei's question, while Kari suspiciously narrowed her eyes.

"I have no idea." she replied.

"We should fly closer." Magnadramon said, speeding up her flight.

The primeval bird also flew faster. The stranger Digimon gathered energy in its mouth and fired it at the two Digimon, which dodged to the side.

"Holy Fire!" Magnadramon cried, firing a whirlwind of fire from her mouth.

"Cosmic Ray!" Ornithmon released a dark energy from his beak.

The purple something crossed its arms and blocked the attacks without effort. Then it let out a scream and threw the partner out of the air. Both hit the ground. Their partners were equally surprised by the attack, as they did not expect that Magnadramon and Ornithmon would hit the ground.

"Is everything okay, Ornithmon?" Yolei asked him.

"Argh! What was that attack?" was his question as he tried to stand up.

However, he had no strength and hit the ground again before turning back to Poromon.

"Are you doing well, Magnadramon?" asked Kari with concern.

"I'm still alive..." she moaned, before she digivolved back to her rookie-level Salamon.

The small, cream-white dog pointed her head upwards and watched as the attacker disappeared into a distortion.

"Why did it attack us and then run away again?" asked Kari, astonished.

"Maybe the Digimon was DexDorugoramon... who then tried to collect information about the attack patterns of our partners." Yolei suspected.

"Then the others should not attack it!" cried Poromon, flapping his small wings despite the exhaustion.

"Right..." Salamon agreed: "Yolei. Please write to the others not to attack DexDorugoramon."

"Okay." Poromon's partner quickly tapped into the communication device: "Don't attack a purple dragon or DexDorugoramon – Yolei. Is it okay?"

"I think so... The problem is that Tai, Matt, Sora and Meiko don't have communication devices." Tai's younger sister said thoughtfully.

"Then we have to inform them differently." said the small, pink fur ball.

"And how?" asked Salamon: "We're far too exhausted to digivolve."

"Then we just run." Yolei said, starting to run.

"And where are the others, Yolei?" was Kari's question, which stopped her friend.

Poromon's partner slowly turned to Tai's younger sister and stared at her.

* * *

"Hm?" Davis looked at his communications device.

Yolei had written him a message.

"What's going on?" T.K. asked him.

"Message from Yolei."

"And what does she write?" was Magnamon's question as he jumped to the side.

The group of four was fighting DexDorugoramon, who had surprised them on their way to a mountain range.

The golden Royal Knight flew into the air and tried to hit the enemy with a punch. Meanwhile, Seraphimon tried exactly the same thing from the same direction, causing the two partners to collide. Magnamon cursed loudly and insulted the angel Digimon loudly.

"Can't you be more careful, Seraphimon?!" he cursed.

"You can't be careful!" Seraphimon exclaimed angrily: "Seriously, you just flew into me!"

"You flew into me! Not the other way around!"

DexDorugoramon growled a bit as if it were offended and disappeared into a distortion.

"Why am I in a team with you at all!" the golden knight raved.

"I ask myself too." Seraphimon replied.

Davis and T.K. observed the dispute tacitly until the latter said:

"Normally we always argue..."

"Yes..." the red-brown-haired man grinned: "But it's because Magnamon is undergoing a personality change... Or rather a digi-puberty!"

"digi-puberty?" Matt's brother looked at him.

"Puberty for Digimon!" he began to smile stupidly.

"Is there anything like this for Digimon?"

"Don't know."

"How do you get this term?" sighed T.K. and rubbed his eyebrows annoyed.

"Well... Digi stands for-"

"This question should not be answered..." he interrupted him.

Both then remained silent. At some point, Magnamon and Seraphimon were far too exhausted to continue arguing, which is why they returned to their rookie levels.

Veemon wondered why he had argued with Patamon in the first place. Perhaps, he suspected, it was because they had barely worked together. Or because they didn't get along very well in their previous lives.

Whatever the reason was... it was kind of weird that their partners often argued, with Davis in particular jealous of T.K., because he got along particularly well with Kari, in which the red-brown-haired man had a crush on.

While the blue dragon was thinking about it further, the hamster flew to the blonde-haired man and sat on his left shoulder.

"What are we doing now? DexDorugoramon escaped us," Patamon said, hanging his wings.

"Hm..." Davis pondered aloud, entangled his arms.

"Maybe the others will find it." T.K. suggested.

"And how?" the red-brown-haired man dropped his arms to the side and looked at Matt's brother inquiringly: "We have a meeting place, but it will certainly be a while before the others are there..."

"But we can still go there." Veemon said after joining the others.

"Good idea..." Matt's brother agreed.

The group of four, which could not be put together in a less favourable way, made their way to the agreed meeting point. This was the lake of Seadramon, which the group had met on their first trip through the digital world and he had attacked them, because Tai had accidentally stepped on his tail tip. The suggestion that the DigiDestiend met there, by the way, came from Mimi. She really wanted to have a meeting place that everyone knew.

Eventually, T.K. Davis began to ask.

"Do you still have..." he was looking for the right words: "A crush on Kari?"

"Huh?" the red-brown-haired man hadn't expected.

"I just wonder if you still have a crush on Kari..."

"Where does this suddenly come from?"

"I was just immersed in my thoughts and I was thinking of Kari..."

"Hm... I see. Yeah, I still have a crush on her!" shouted Davis.

"Are you her boyfriend?"

"What?! No! How do you get there?"

"Sorry, for this question..." the blond-haired man looked down ashamed.

"You have a crush on her" he grinned.

"I can't lie... So, yes."

"Why don't you tell her?"

"Well... I think Kari has a boyfriend. My first thought was you... but it's someone else."

"Hm... Maybe Joe?"

"Nonsense! He and Kari hardly know each other." T.K. shook his head in disbelief: "Besides, I rather believe that you have a crush into someone else."

"Oh, do you think so?" he smiled mischievously.

"Yes... In Akira."

Davis immediately laughed hard until he got abdominal pain, while the blonde-haired man tacitly stared at him.

"My belly hurts!" the red-brown-haired man held his belly: "How do you get on with it? Seriously?! Me and Akira?!"

"Well... You two are pretty similar."

"She's older than me."

"Well? Age has nothing to do with it."

"Do you speak from experience?"

"No... Like this or like that... I don't want to admit it to Kari until this thing is finally over," said the blonde-haired man: "And what about you and Akira? Will you confess to her?"

"For the last time! I have not a crush on Akira!" cried Davis, moving further ahead to symbolize to T.K. that the subject was over.

"As far as I know, she has a boyfriend in America." Matt's brother added.

Veemon's partner grumbled a little and walked faster. Meanwhile, Patamon grinned at his partner.

"You like to tease him, don't you?" the orange hamster asked.

"Yes... It's always funny to see Davis getting upset." T.K. said.

Veemon accelerated to Davis and said:

"T.K. teases you all the time."

"I know..." he sighed.

"You shouldn't get upset about it."

"Yes, yes. But I hate to be teased!" he cried, but both Matt's little brother and his partner couldn't hear him.

"Despite this, it is just stupid when T.K. said that you have a crush on Akira..."

"Really!" Davis raised an eyebrow: "I have not a crush on her!"

"That's why you've been quite excited about your circumstances."

"Just because I first met Akira of all of us doesn't mean I've got a crush on her!"

"Really not?"

"Really not, Veemon." he assured him: "Also..."

The red-brown-haired man looked to the side briefly.

"Also?" the blue dragon repeated.

"There's also a girl in my class... I like."

"Wha-... What... What?! But... I thought you... Kari..." he stuttered with his eyes wide open: "I thought you have a..."

"I just wanted to annoy T.K. a little bit. Yes... In the beginning I had a crush on Kari... But now I just want her and T.K. to come together... that's why I want to make him jealous."

"Davis... you're really a great friend."

"I know!"

"Don't let this go up to your head." Veemon warned him, sighing.

* * *

"Hm..." Mimi pondered aloud as she looked over the field.

In the distance, she could see a forest.

"Hm..." Cody followed her.

"I can't do it anymore!" she exclaimed furiously.

The boy just sighed and shrugged his shoulders. Why did the woman have to get upset about it after just over half an hour of searching? Shouldn't she be glad the group hasn't met DexDorugoramon yet?

"Man... couldn't someone draw a map of the digital world? We got lost!" she continued to complain, and stopped: "Could we finally find this DexDorugoramon guy?!"

"We should not attack it... because it analyses our partners' combat data and then probably uses it to its advantage." the boy explained.

"Mimi... Calm down." Palmon said, turning to her partner: "There's no point in getting upset."

"Moreover..." Armadillomon said: "Let's not get lost. You're just too lazy to go any further."

"I'm going to show you that I'm not too lazy to walk!" exclaimed Mimi, and went on.

"It really did work." the plant digimon whispered to the armadillo and Cody.

"Mimi is very predictable." the boy replied, "If you insult her, she wants to prove that it's not true."

"And then we can use that to our advantage," Armadillomon said quietly.

"But don't let Mimi know... because then she will get even more upset-" Cody said.

"Of course." the armadillo nodded to his partner, smiling softly.

"What are you waiting for?!" Mimi shouted to the three of them: "We have to find DexDorugoramon and stop it until reinforcements come!"

"Okay!" Palmon replied, rushing to her partner.

Cody briefly shook his head and followed the plant digimon with Armadillomon.

The field eventually changed to a dense forest and the group sometimes had to climb over a tree trunk. Sometimes they had to climb under it, because the trunk was too high to climb. At some point, fog began to form.

"Man, this is a fog." Mimi groaned as she could no longer see her hand in front of her eyes.

"Yeah... I can't see anything anymore." Cody said, before hearing a grumble: "Was that your stomach, Armadillomon?"

"No." the Digimon replied.

Another grumble.

"Palmon, stop it!" Mimi complained.

"That wasn't me, Mimi!" cried the plant digimon.

Again, a grumble rang out and the group noticed someone approaching. A digimon was with violet scales appeared. It looked like a man with a dragon's head. On one shoulder rested a sword consisting of scales.

Mimi screamed in horror. Cody was also terrified and jumped on the woman. Tightly crowded together, they stared at the digimon. Palmon and Armadillomon trembled, because they could see that the Digimon was very strong.

"Huh?" the Digimon looked at the group in amazement: "What do rookie-level digimon do here? And what kind of Digimon are you?"

"W-w-we a-are hu-humans." the boy replied.

"W-w-we... we've been l-lost." Mimi added.

"No wonder... This forest here is cursed." said the dragon man, pushing his sword into the ground before leaning on him.

"C-cursed?!" everyone shouted.

"Yes... According to a legend, the body of one of the Seven Demon Lords is said to be sealed here... I think it was even Lucemon..." he seemed amused by the facial expressions.

The dragon man remained silent for a while and could only with difficulty pinch a smile. Eventually, however, he spoke.

"But that's a lie." he said.

"A lie?" repeated Palmon.

"Yeah... Nearby is the World Tree King Drasil." said the dragon man.

"How do you know that?" asked Armadillomon, looking at the Digimon with disbelief: "And who are you?"

"I live here... I was also part of the guards of the Royal Knights," the dragon man explained with a painful expression on his face: "Sorry I didn't introduce myself. My name is Dorbickmon."

"Dorbickmon..." muttered the plant digimon.

Somewhere she had heard the name before.

"I was good friends with a Royal Knight." Dorbickmon said as he sat down in the tailor's seat.

Cody, Mimi, Armadillomon and Palmon looked at each other briefly before they sat down.

"Please tell us about this world tree." the armadillo asked.

"Sure." the dragon man nodded and pondered briefly as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

What was the best way to explain it?

"We're waiting," the woman rattled angrily.

"Patience is the key. It's complicated and I'm still trying to find the words... Hm..." Dorbickmon pondered a little further before opening his lids again and saying: "Okay. The World Tree is actually King Drasil's outer shell. The core is located elsewhere. Probably in a digital space."

"Huh? And how do you get into this digital space?" asked Cody.

"By approaching the tree... But I would advise against it." the dragon man raged: "The tree is protected by a Royal Knight named Craniamon. But even this forest provides protection for King Drasil."

"To what extent?" was Armadillomon's question.

"The fog. This makes it hard to know exactly where you are... Look up." Dorbickmon told them.

Everyone was staring into the sky, but they couldn't see anything because of the fog.

"Even at night there is dense fog here." he continued.

"And with the fog, a grumble sounds." Palmon said.

"Grumble?" the dragon man asked.

Suddenly, the grumbling resounded. Dorbickmon jumped to his feet, grasped the handle of his flame sword, and growled.

"Who is there?!" he demanded, flaring his teeth.

A green laser raced towards the group. The Dragon Man swung his sword wrapped in flames in the direction of the enemy and cried:

"Tyrant Collbrande!"

The sword struck the stranger Digimon, but was pushed back. Out of the fog came a purple dragon and growled. Then DexDorugoramon uttered a marker-shattering scream.

"Crap..." the dragon man cursed: "Listen carefully. I'm stopping him. You're fleeing. You don't have a chance against this guy!"

"But what about you?" asked Cody uncertainly.

"You would just hold me back." Dorbickmon raved, placing his sword in front of his torso.

"But we can digivolve to our ultimate-level!" protested Palmon.

"Exactly! So let's help you!" continued Mimi.

"No!" the dragon man growled: "Flee, damn it again!"

Armadillomon looked at Dorbickmon. But then he decided:

"Let's do what he says."

"Okay..." his partner agreed.

The woman began to run, closely followed by the boy and his partner. Only the plant digimon stayed behind and said:

"Don't die, Dorbickmon."

Eventually, she rushed after her friends.

"Tch... This digimon reminds me of Rosemon..." the dragon man said, before shaking his head: "Anyway. Show me what you can do! Tyrant Collbrande!"

After only three minutes, Dorbickmon had to kneel down before exertion. He sucked the air several times in his open mouth and pushed it out there again, while his whole body was covered with injuries. DexDorugoramon growled at him furiously and collected green energy in his mouth. Meanwhile, the dragon man closed his eyes before a tear stole from his right eyelid. Dorbickmon heard the enemy growl, but he did not dare to open his eyes. He just felt that someone lifted him up and he couldn't feel any ground under his feet.

"Don't worry." said a soft voice: "I will take you to Primary Village, Dorbickmon."

"Thank you... But what about this thing, Sir Sleipmon?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it now, Dorbickmon." she said, quickly flying on, so DexDorugoramon couldn't catch up with her.

In the flight, Dorbickmon fell asleep with exhaustion. So he didn't even notice that he was taken to a cave and Sleipmon left him alone. Alone? No. Examon was in the cave. For the Dragon Emperor remembered that he was a good friend of Dorbickmon at the time of the Royal Knights.


	40. Chapter 40 - The search: part 2

**Author's note: **Sorry for the late update. I had school and then a smal concusion because of a stupid horse that was not trained and the ignorance of the horse's owner who did not listen to me then I said that my horse should go first because he is the calmest horse in the group.

Whatever. I am fine now and here is the chapter. Hope you like it. ^^

* * *

Chapter 40 – The search: part 2

Phoenixmon's eyes scanned the area as she flew through the air with Sora and Meiko on her back and SaviorHackmon next to her. They didn't know that they shouldn't attack DexDorugoramon. Neither DigiDestined had a communication device such as Davis, Yolei, Cody, T.K. and Kari, which was also used to store the DigiMentals. However, only the red-brown-haired man used these Mentals, because the others could no longer use them.

The black-haired woman sighed and looked at her hands, which had burrowed into the feathers of the phoenix.

"Is something wrong, Meiko?" her partner asked her.

"I just wonder if the others are doing well." she said.

"Honestly, I'm more worried that we don't have a chance against DexDorugoramon." Phoenixmon said before flapping her wings again.

"Why?" was SaviorHackmon's question: "It's not because I can't digivolve to my ultimate-level yet."

"But. You are the weakest partner of all of us at the moment... But don't take it badly, SaviorHackmon. Before you were reborn, you were very strong... but now..."

"Hey!" he exasperated: "I'm glad I was reborn. My life before was marked by loneliness."

"Loneliness..." Phoenixmon repeated when she recalled that before she met Omnimon in her previous life, she was also very lonely.

"You were lonely?" Sora asked him.

"To watch as the original DigiDestined defeated the Dark Masters, as you had defeated Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters and Apocalymon... Let my loneliness only increase." explained the dragon man with a heavy sigh: "Then the Homeostasis had the idea that in order to free me from my loneliness, I should get a human partner. But King Dasil had created Meicoomon... Then she became Meiko's partner, not me."

"Did you know that Gennai was Alphamon?"

"Not until just before my death."

"But you're no longer alone," Meiko said cheerfully.

"I know. I'm also very grateful for that," he said to his partner.

Sora had to start smiling at the encouragement. The two understood each other very well as if they had been together for a long time just like her and Phoenixmon. If she was already thinking about her partner...

After the reboot by King Drasil she had been very arrogant. But Sora had also rushed things, as she was very attached to her partner. Luckily, she got used to it again, allowing her to digivolve to her ultimate-level. After she also received her old memories, which were stored in Meicoomon, and Ordinemon was defeated, she had often apologized to Sora for her outrageous behaviour. However, her partner was a very friendly person and accepted her apologies.

"Phoenixmon." her partner said.

"Yes?" the phoenix looked at her briefly.

"I'm glad you're my partner."

"I'm just as glad you're my partner."

Both laughed cheerfully and Sora stroked Phoenixmon over her back. The golden bird closed her eyes briefly and sighed contentedly. She always liked to take her partner through the air, which was already the case when she could only digitize to her adult level, Birdramon.

"There's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time, Sora." Meiko began.

"Yes?" she looked over her shoulder at the black-haired woman.

"Were you in love with Tai?"

Sora stared briefly at her partner's back. She didn't like to remember it. She and Tai would have been better friends than starting a relationship that had been doomed to failure from the start. Both were good friends and often supported each other, but they also often argued about small things. Kari's brother always had a different opinion than her and the relationship eventually broke down.

"Yes. However, we once argued so badly that we ended our relationship." Phoenixmon's partner explained.

"If you don't mind what were you arguing about?" asked Meiko.

"Tai had given me a hair clip."

"And that's why you argued?" was Phoenixmon's question.

Her face was expressionless.

"Yes. Hey! I was in puberty." Sora defended herself.

"To argue about a hair clip..." Meiko said dryly: "I would always be happy about a gift..."

"The hair clip looked extremely ugly..." she said.

"I would also be upset about such a gift... But Tai would never give me such a gift..."

"Matt doesn't either."

The two DigiDestined began to laugh happily. Meanwhile, SaviorHackmons' eyes caught something.

"Look out!" he shouted, before dodging a green ray of energy.

Phoenixmon also dodged and flew higher. She picked up fire in her mouth and shot it at DexDorugoramon. When he was engulfed in a swarm of flames, the dragon man raced to the enemy and attacked him.

"Trident Saber!" he shouted, attacking the purple dragon with his red blades, while DexDorugoramon was still struggling with Phoenixmon's attack.

The purple dragon freed itself from the fire and hit with its tail ball to SaviorHackmon, who had already risen into the air again.

/With OC Generics I could defeat it... But I still can't digivolve to my ultimate-level to Jesmon.../, he thought: /Damn.../

The phoenix fell in a dive, while the two people cramped on their backs.

"Phoenixmon!" screamed Sora.

Shortly before her partner reached DexDorugoramon, she stretched out her claws and threw it on her back. The golden bird flew high into the air. SaviorHackmon joined in and observed the situation... The purple dragon farded as it rose up and looked up to the four.

"Phoenixmon..." her partner moaned: "The next time you attack someone, please let us down beforehand."

"Sorry." said the phoenix as she narrowed her eyes.

DexDorugoramon seemed to want to carry out the next attack. Phoenixmon rushed sharply to the left. However, this came as such a surprise to Meiko that she could no longer hold on in time and fell off Phoenixmon's back. Sora tried to grab her by the wrist, but she wasn't fast enough.

"Meiko!" shouted SaviorHackmon, running after her.

She fell from a dizzying height towards the ground and rowed helplessly with her arms as she screamed in fear.

Meanwhile, the purple dragon began to gather energy in its mouth, which it shot at the black-haired man in a green laser.

/Damn it!/, it raced through the dragon man's head when he noticed the attack.

Why couldn't he digivolve to his ultimate-level now? Then he could summon Por, Atho and René, the energetic beings who always accompanied him as Jesmon, and command them to protect his partner. He would also be able to overpower and defeat DexDorugoramon with OC Generics. But since he couldn't evolve to his ultimate-level, he couldn't do anything. Suddenly a red flash came in and took Meiko with it. The laser shot past the lightning and into the sky, missing it by mere inches. The black-haired rescuer placed herself in front of Phoenixmon, while SaviorHackmon flew by her side.

"Thank you, Sleipmon." the dragon man said with relief, before turning to his partner and asking, "Are you doing well, Meiko?"

Her mouth was completely dry and she had to swallow several times before she spoke:

"Y-yes..."

There was still the shock of free fall in her.

Sleipmon aimed her crossbow at DexDorugoramon and fired an arrow at it. It jumped back, causing the bullet to miss it. Behind the purple dragon appeared a distortion, after which the six-footed horse shot at it. But she couldn't reach it in time, which landed her on the spot where the purple dragon was standing a few seconds ago.

"Um..." Meiko began hesitantly.

"Ah... Of course." Sleipmon lay down so that the black-haired woman could climb down from her back.

The six-footed horse then rose again before noticing how SaviorHackmon joined in and looked at her tacitly. Normally the Homeostasis would never command its knights to save anyone. So why was the six-footed horse here?

"The Homeostasis gave us the order to kill the DigiDestined,." Sleipmon began explaining after Phoenixmon also landed on the ground.

"What?!" Sora said, terrified: "How? Why?"

"The Homeostasis did not give the order. I asked a short time later." the six-footed horse said.

"But what about Gallantmon?" asked SaviorHackmon.

"I will go to him immediately to dissuade him from his plan." replied the Royal Knight, and wanted to fly off.

"T-thank you... for the rescue," the black-haired woman said uncertainly.

"You're welcome. I like to help. But I really have to get going now." Sleipmon said.

"I have another question. How did you know Meiko was in danger?" was the dragon man's question.

"I was nearby when I saw your partner fall and you tried to rush after her," the six-footed horse explained, flying into the air before saying goodbye.

* * *

Vikemon's eyes could see almost nothing through the murky waters. The lake was almost overpopulated with plants. Here he also saw a few Digimon, which were native to lakes, seas or rivers. Especially many Divermon had settled in this lake. But even a Seadramon seemed to like the vegetation. It swam between several underwater plants with the help of its slender body. Joe's partner sighed and swam back to the surface of the water. Unlike, for example, Seadramon or Divermon, he had no gills to breathe underwater, so he had to reappear every thirty minutes. As he broke through the surface of the water, his eyes immediately saw his partner.

"And?" he asked.

Vikemon just shook his head and sighed heavily.

"DexDorugoramon is unlikely to be in the water. Do you remember what Dorumon had said? DexDorugoramon could be anywhere it can live... It can't breathe in the water, so it won't be there." Ken concluded.

"Hm... You might be right." said BanchoStingmon, who just landed on the ground.

He was in the air looking for the purple dragon. But unlike Phoenixmon or Ornithmon, he didn't have too sharp eyes. He could see everything sharply, but with distant objects he was no longer able to recognize them clearly enough.

"Where are we supposed to look?" was Joe's question.

"No idea." Vikemon replied.

"Maybe a little further north." suggested the insect man: "I saw ruins there."

"How far away are these ruins, BanchoStingmon?" his partner asked him.

"About one mile." he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"We're probably going to have to run something..." sighed Vikemon's partner.

"One mile is not far." said his partner: "You can at least fly."

The group eventually set off for the ruin. Once there, however, they realized that it was not a ruin, but a village full of in-training Digimon.

"Are we in Primary Village?" asked Ken.

"No!" replied a Nyaromon.

"You're in an in-training village!" said a Pagumon.

"There's only in-training Digimon living here." the only rookie level digimon said.

"Guilmon!" said BanchoStingmon, terrified, because he did not expect to meet him here.

"Good morning." Guilmon greeted her.

"What are you doing here?" was Joe's question.

"I'm looking for survivors." the red dinosaur continued his explanation.

"Survivors?" repeated Vikemon.

"Survivors of the Guard of the Royal Knights." said the rookie digimon: "But there are hardly any. We have only found two so far... DarkKnightmon, who is already dead again, and Dorbickmon, who will not help us."

"How do you know that Dorbickmon will not help us?" the insect man asked.

"Dorbickmon told us personally after he was conscious." Guilmon sighed, hitting his tail on the ground: "And what are you doing here?"

"We're looking for a digimon called DexDorugoramon..." said Ken: "Alphamon said we must find it."

"Alphamon?" the eyes of the red dinosaur widened: "Why should Alphamon-"

He broke off and began to think.

"Alphamon was able to force Piedmon's sphere out of his body." Joe explained.

"However..." his partner continued: "The sphere formed into DexDorugoramon."

"Which we have to stop-" BanchoStingmon concluded.

"I see..." Guilmon nodded his head briefly before looking at the group seriously: "Do you think it's such a good idea?"

"What do you mean?" asked Vikemon.

A loud scream rang out, causing the in-training digimon to shrug and disappear into their homes.

"Now we've finally found it!" said Joe's partner.

"More like us, Vikemon." the insect man replied.

"Guilmon warp-digivolve to... Gallantmon!" the Royal Knight ran to DexDorugoramon and tried to put him down with his lance.

The purple dragon grabbed the weapon with his two claws as light gathered around the top.

"Royal Saber!" Gallantmon fired a light laser at DexDorugoramon from a short distance.

He immediately let go of the lance when he was thrown away by the Royal Knight. The purple dragon hit the ground and stopped briefly.

/ Why doesn't DexDorugoramon rise again?/, Gallantmon thought.

"Arctic Blizzard!" cried Vikemon, breathing an ice-cold breath that froze the enemy.

Then he let his morning stars crush into the ice, causing it to shatter. DexDorugoramon remained lying on the ground. But not for long. It straightened up again and again emanated a loud scream. BanchoStingmon rushed to it, jumped over his head and crossed his weapons before trying to perform a cross-shaped blow. However, the purple dragon used its tail ball and hurled the insect man away, so he slammed onto the ground and digivolve back to Wormmon.

Joe's partner wanted to use his attack Arctic Blizzard again, but DexDorugoramon fired a green energy beam at him. Vikemon also went to the ground and turned back to Gomamon.

Meanwhile, Gallantmon narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was ready to fight to the end and rushed to the purple dragon. Before he could launch an attack, however, a distortion appeared behind DexDorugoramon. The Royal Knight stopped and had to stand idly by as the enemy disappeared into the distortion. Gallantmon suppressed a curse and looked at the two humans.

"Attack and then disappear again... Weird." Joe said.

"He only collects data... A very natural behaviour of the DexDorugoramons." explained Guilmon's ultimate-level: "DexDorugoramon try to get their minds by fighting. Through the collected data it learns and becomes stronger, not fleeing from fights, which is why it is under King Drasil's command, which in turn means that DexDorugoramon uses the collected data to better fight you on the second encounter."

"That's..." Ken's eyes widened: "So it would be better if we didn't attack DexDorugoramon, wouldn't it?"

"No. If you don't attack it, it will kill you." Gallantmon replied sharply.

"And what are we supposed to do?" asked Joe.

"Don't attack it and let you kill... Either way, DexDorugoramon will kill you." the Royal Knight said coldly.

"What?!" the DigiDestined said in horror.

"It's not my will... It is the will of the Homeostasis... The Homeostasis doesn't want to let you continue to act as a DigiDestined." explained Guilmon's ultimate-level: "You have made too many mistakes. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you here and now."

"What?!" they both screamed, looking at Gallantmon with their eyes widened as the Royal Knight pointed his lance at the two.

"Wait!" a voice shouted, standing protectively in front of the two people.

"Sleipmon?!" Guilmon's ultimate-level still didn't sink his lance.

"It's a misunderstanding, Gallantmon!" she said.

"What are you talking about?" his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I received the same command... However, a short time later I asked the Homeostasis again... It said that King Drasil had hacked into our communication system and had given us the command. The Homeostasis doesn't like the DigiDestined very much, but it would keep them alive as long as they don't interfere in its plans."

"And what if King Drasil had hacked the communication system afterwards."

The six-footed horse sighed and briefly closed her lids. However, they opened up a little later and Sleipmon looked Gallantmon hard in the eye.

"You know the Homeostasis... It would never want to execute such a drastic command... peace is not endangered. The Homeostasis still sees hope that the DigiDestined... and Alphamon..." she added: "that they can defeat DexDorugoramon."

"I see..." Guilmon's ultimate-level breathed a deep breath.

"You should also ask the Homeostasis if you're not sure."

"Good. I'll ask it." Gallantmon said, before jumping into a distortion.

Meanwhile, the six-footed horse turned to the two humans.

"You have to forgive Gallantmon... We are stressed because of DexDorugoramon..." she apologized.

"Okay..." said Joe after he had arranged his thoughts.

Ken, meanwhile, went to Wormmon and lifted him up. His friend, meanwhile, rushed to Gomamon and lifted him up as well. Sleipmon nodded at the two before disappearing into a distortion.

"We should go back to Seadramon's lake." Ken said.

"Good idea." Joe agreed.

* * *

Sera and Shin sat at the table and looked at each other. On the table were two cups filled with smelly coffee. On one cup the Japanese character for hope was engraved, on the other one one was a beautiful bird. Both former DigiDestined sighed.

"Um..." the two wanted to start, but interrupted each other.

Wanyamon, who was lying on the couch and was still dozing a few seconds ago, opened an eye and watched the former DigiDestined.

"When it comes to Akira, I'm all ears." the in-training digimon said, jumping from the seat.

He hopped to the table and then to a chair. Eventually, he jumped on the table.

"Wanyamon..." Sera said, "It wasn't about her..."

"We, I mean, no we, I... Oh forget it!" shouted Shin, standing up before going into the bedroom.

Wanyamon watched him briefly before turning to Akira's sister.

"What's going on with him?" was his question.

"I'd like to know that as well." she sighed, rubbing her hand over her forehead: "He's been like that for days... Sometimes I think he wants to propose to me..."

"Would be nice." one voice replied.

Akira stood with her arms crossed and with a gentle smile on the door frame. She briefly pushed herself off and went to the closet, where she got a glass out. She then wandered to the fridge, opening it and picking an orange juice before putting the glass on the table and sitting on a chair. She smiled at her older sister and gently stroked Over Wanyamon's fur. He snuggled up to her and relaxed.

"I think such a wedding would be nice... whether it's traditional Japanese or traditional American." Akira enthused.

"You seem to be doing better." Sera said: "I'm happy about that."

"Yes... Wanyamon did a good job..." she laughed a little before getting serious again: "Just the nightmares remain."

"I was kidnapped by a digimon at the time..." she began: "It was horrible, but my friends and Monodramon saved me after I was nearly killed."

"Monodramon?" the young woman repeated.

The older sister nodded and explained:

"She had been my partner."

"I see... You could talk about that time more often." Akira smiled: "I'd love to hear more about your adventures."

"Me too." added the in-training digimon.

Sera laughed and stroked Wanyamon over his fur. She smiled as he snuggled up to her hand. Meanwhile, Akira studied her sister's face. A question has been burning in it for a long time.

"Sera... What were our parents like?" she asked.

"You mean our biological ones?" expressionlessness formed on her face.

"Yes... I would like to know who our parents were."

"Our parents... More specifically, my father and our mother-"

"We are half-siblings?!" she interrupted her.

"Yes... I never met my father." she pondered the next words.

"Why?! How could this happen?!" Akira stood up and was about to leave the room.

But her older sister held her by the arm, causing her to sit down again.

"It's like that... I..." Sera paused and nervously kneaded her hands.

"Please tell her the truth, Sera." one voice asked, "It's better if we don't lie about it anymore. Akira is intelligent enough to suspect that you are telling her another lie."

Shin stepped back into the living room and sat on a chair as Akira's eyes widened.

"You wanted to tell me a lie again?" her voice was filled with suppressed anger.

"It's not easy for me." Sera sighed as she closed her eyes.

"Not easy for you?" recalled Wanyamon's partner.

"Yes." she nodded to her as Shin put his hand over hers, gently squeezing it: "The truth is... the truth is... The truth is that we are half-siblings!"

Her older sister got up and rushed out of the room while Mr. Kawa massaged his eyebrows and sighed.

"That's not the truth." he said.

"What is the truth?" asked Wanyamon.

"I promised Sera not to tell you, Akira."

"Shin." her lips formed a narrow line: "Please. I want to know the truth. Who were my parents?"

"Your father was a mean man." Shin began to explain: "He had taken advantage of Sera."

"How did he take advantage of it, Shin?"

Mr. Kawa sighed again and closed his eyes. He thought about how he could teach her.

"The reason why Sera got your custody in the first place was... because you are her daughter." he said.

"What?" Akira's eyes widened with incredulity: "W-what?"

All the colour drained from her face. Her mouth was dry and she only produced a few notes.

"Sera is..." she finally said.

"Your mother. She was fifteen when your father raped her." Shin looked hard into her eyes: "After this incident, she noticed one morning that she was pregnant. Her parents and grandparents then urged Sera to have an abortion. But she didn't want to. Instead, she decided that her child should grow up with her parents, while Sera herself was taken in by relatives."

"That's-"

"One year after your birth, you and your grandparents had a car accident. You had only suffered minor injuries... but your grandparents died at the scene of the accident."

"Sera is my mother... And I've always acted so rude... Wait a minute! That would mean that your child was my little half-sister."

"Yes." Mr. Kawa nodded his head: "That's why Sera cared so much for you. Have you never wondered why you have fifteen years of age difference?"

"Yes, I have... but-"

The three heard a door closed.

"Sera!" shouted Shin, rushing into the hallway.

But there was no trace of his girlfriend. Akira joined him with Wanyamon in her arms and asked,

"What happened?"

"Damn..." he cursed: "Sera eavesdrops us."

"What? Sera... I mean mum... eavesdropped us?"

"Looks like that." the in-training digimon replied.

Mr. Kawa quickly put on his shoes and then tried to get the car key out of the dresser. He noticed, however, that it was missing.

"She drove off in the car." he raved: "We can't catch up with her."

Suddenly the phone rang. Akira looked at the number briefly. It was Izzy.

"Hello?" was her question.

"Akira? Good that I reach you." the redhead replied.

"What is? My sister... Mother." she corrected herself: "My mother ran away."

"Your mother?" Izzy looked on the other side, somewhat astonished: "Doesn't matter right now. DexDorugoramon is out now in Tokyo... Ueno."

"Okay. I'm coming."

"Good. Hurry up. I and Tentomon are already on our way there."

The redhead turned off his phone while Akira sighed annoyed.

"What is it?" asked Wanyamon impatiently.

"DexDorugoramon has appeared in Ueno." she said.

"Akira you go to Ueno, I will search for Sera alone," Shin said: "If I find her, I'll call you."

"Okay-" she nodded briefly before put on her shoes and stormed out.

Mr. Kawa also rushed out of the apartment and locked up. He only hoped that Sera would not go to Ueno, where the enemy was. Meanwhile, Akira rode her bike fast.

A good ten minutes later, she reached Ueno out of breath. Wanyamon immediately jumped out of the bike basket and digivolve to his ultimate-level. He took a quick look at his injured wing. The crack was now very small and with a lot of effort he could fly. Dynasmon flapped vigorously with his wings and rose into the air.

"Do you see anything?" his partner asked him.

"Yes. I see an insect digimon." he shouted.

"That must be Tentomon!"

"No... It's a dragon."

"Then DexDorugoramon."

"I'm going to fly there. You stay here." he ordered.

"What?! I'm your partner!" she replied angrily.

"I'm not going to risk you being kidnapped again."

"But I want to see for myself the situation." she argued.

"Definitely not."

"Dynasmon!" she raved, looking at him angrily: "I'm taking care of myself. That's why I'm going to come along!"

"Well, fine. But don't get in my way."

A smile formed on her lips as she swung back onto her bike and cycled off. Dynasmon watched her a little before he flew off and overtook her a few seconds later. The Royal Knight noticed his injured wing hurting him, but he tried to ignore it and ended up in front of DexDorugoramon. A few feet away, Izzy was with Tentomon in his arms. The insect himself had already lost consciousness. Dynasmon looked at the purple dragon with his red eyes and gathered energy in both of his palms. Eventually, he pointed them at DexDorugoramon and fired two lasers.

The purple dragon countered the attack with a green beam of energy, which immediately neutralized Dynasmon's attack and struck his chest. The Royal Knight was thrown against a building and remained motionless. Only his gaze, which was still directed at the opponent, revealed that he had not lost consciousness.

Dynasmon straightened up again and wrapped himself in a white-bluish aura. A short time later, Wanyamon's ultimate-level released the aura in the form of a wyvern, which made its way to the enemy. DexDorugoramon growled furiously and hit the wyvern with its tail ball, causing it to split in half.

The Royal Knight suppressed an emerging curse before noticing that DexDorugoramon was firing a green laser again. But this time not in his direction. His eyes widened when he saw where the ray of energy was going.

Akira's eyes widened briefly before someone knocked her to the ground. The green laser shot past the two people and smashed into another building. The young woman's eyes looked into her saviour's.

"Is everything okay, Akira?" Sera asked her.

"Y-yes..." she briefly swallowed the lump in her neck: "Yes, Sera... Mom..."

"If you feel uneasy, you can continue to call me Sera, Akira." she gently placed a kiss on Akira's forehead before getting up and offering her daughter's hand.

The young woman pulled up and then nervously bit her lower lip. There was discomfort between the two. But before either of them could say anything, DexDorugoramon screamed. It was shrouded in a dark aura before it faded again and revealed a new digimon.

"Damn." Dynasmon raved: "Damn..."

"This Digimon..." Izzy gulped: "Is this Dexmon?"

"Yes." the Royal Knight confirmed: "That's Dexmon."

"Impossible." Sera said scared: "Why now? Why was DexDorugoramon digivolving now and not earlier?"

"I... don't know..." Akira looked to the ground depressed.


	41. Chapter 41 - Cry of the purple dragon

**Author's note:** Sorry for the late update. School is hell! 28 students in a classroom being really loud, with masks on them, no space in between them, a teacher who I can't understand audibly and lessons which aren't needed. So yeah. Here is the new chapter.

* * *

Chapter 41 – Cry of the purple dragon

A marker-shattering scream echoed through the ears of those present. Meanwhile, Dynasmon, with a pain-distorted face, stood up again and growled furiously. He didn't like the situation at all. DexDorugoramon digivolved to Dexmon and probably it had already connected to the Earth's ecosystem. Akira suppressed a curse and looked at her mother, who bit her lower lip. Even Sera had no idea how they could defeat this thing. Izzy himself had already opened his laptop and examined Dexmon with it. Again and again he cursed quietly.

"Dexmon creates an ever-increasing distortion." the redhead finally explained.

"And that means?" the young woman asked him.

"That it's trying to bend the whole room so that it can probably bring King Drasil's subordinates here. I also recognize that a part of King Drasil is in Dexmon, which means that

"This allows King Drasil to control Dexmon." Wanyamon's ultimate-level interrupted him.

"Correct." Izzy nodded briefly before returning to his laptop.

He recognized the signs of a huge distortion in the air.

"Something is coming!" shouted the redhead.

"A distortion... And a pretty big one." Dynasmon raved, narrowing his eyes.

"That would mean that several digimon would travel through the distortion, wouldn't they?" was the question of Akira's mother.

"Yes." he confirmed, again gathering energy in his claws.

"So King Drasil sends reinforcements." Dynasmon replied.

"That's uncertain." Izzy said: "It could also be our friends."

"And how are they supposed to come here?" asked Akira, irritated.

"Have you forgotten that Omnimon, Magnamon and Alphamon are with them?" her partner reminded her: "They can create distortions."

Meanwhile, Dexmon screamed out loud and gathered energy in his mouth. Dynasmon, who already knew what the opponent was up to, rushed to it and grabbed it with one of his claws by its neck and fired a red laser at a short distance. Dexmon's energy beam shot vertically into the air through the force of the attack before knocking off Wanyamon's ultimate-level with his long arm.

A distortion appeared about Izzy and the unconscious Tentomon, and several people and Digimons fell from the sky to the two. Finally, Alphamon, Omnimon and Magnamon emerged from the distortion. The latter laughed a little embarrassed, as he remembered something.

"Haven't we ever had such a problem?" he asked jokingly.

"You mean when we wanted to transport fifty Knightmon into the desert with a distortion, but instead they ended up in a swamp." said the fused Digimon.

"I remember it well. The Knightmon got pretty angry." the black knight chuckled slightly.

"Poor Knightmon..." Tai said, but couldn't smile.

"You find it amusing." Matt sighed.

"Did the Knightmon actually sink into the swamp?" asked Davis slyly.

"I don't really know." replied the golden knight, looking at the other two Royal Knights.

"Don't ask me." Omnimon replied: "I wasn't there."

"Is that really important now?" was Dynasmon's question after he had stood up: "DexDorugoramon just digivolved to Dexmon."

Alphamon turned his gaze to the said Digimon and closed his eyes as he sighed. He desperately wanted to prevent it, but he couldn't. Now they had the huge problem called Dexmon.

"I would say we're attacking this thing!" suggested Gomamon: "Gomamon warp digivolve... Vikemon!"

"Good idea." Palmon agreed: "Palmon warp digivolve to... Rosemon!"

"Biyomon warp digivolve to... Phoenixmon!"

"Patamon warp digivolve to... Seraphimon!"

"Gatomon warp digivolve to... Magnadramon!"

"Armadillomon warp digivolve to... Spinomon!"

"Hawkmon warp digivolve to... Ornithmon!"

"Wormmon warp digivolve to... BanchoStingmon!"

All the freshly digivolved partners raced towards Dexmon and wanted to attack it. Only Hackmon, who has not digivolved, and the Royal Knights kept a distance, knowing that it would be no use if everyone attacked it at once.

"Arctic Blizzard!" Joe's partner froze the enemy, but didn't use his morning stars to blow up the ice.

"Starlight Explosion!" the phoenix crossed her wings and a little later created a yellow flash that raced on the enclosed Dexmon.

"Forbidden Temptation!" the Rose Woman ignited a swirl of petals.

Phoenixmons and Rosemon's attack caused the ice to crack, while BanchoStingmon raced to the enemy and attacked it with his arm weapons. A little later he jumped back again and gave a sign to the angel-digimon and the pink dragon.

"Strike of the Seven Stars!" Seraphimon created seven spheres of energy between his hands, arranged in a cross.

"Holy Fire!" Magnadramon shot a vortex of flames out of her mouth.

Dexmon swung its left arm out and deflected the attacks into a bridge.

Meanwhile, Spinomon had already collected blue flames in his mouth and, after the enemy let its guard down, he fired his attack. Ornithmon flew high into the air and sent a lightning bolt on Dexmon. Both attacks combined reached the enemy, but did not do much damage either.

"It's strong." Joe raved.

"Why are we attacking it?" asked Cody.

"Basically, only our partners do that." Sora said.

The enemy swirled around and hit the insect man with its arm. BanchoStingmon was thrown against Vikemon, who then could not withstand the force and overturned. Both Digimon then turned exhausted back to their rookie levels.

"Wormmon!" cried Ken and went to him.

Joe also ran to his partner and lifted him up.

"Damn you!" Ornithmon growled, rushing to Dexmon.

"Ornithmon, don't!" Phoenixmon warned him, hurrying after the primeval bird.

The enemy fired a green laser at Ornithmon, which hit him in the chest and pushed him to the phoenix. The two collided and also digivolved back to their rookie form. But unlike Gomamon and Wormmon, both were not unconscious. They held themselves in the air with last strength and eventually flew to their partners.

"Hawkmon..." Yolei said depressed: "Are you doing well?"

"Y-yes... I should have listened to Biyomon." he replied weakly.

"Don't blame yourself for that..." Biyomon quipped.

"Okay..." the hawk said weakly.

Magnadramon meandered past her enemy's arms, using her long and agile body. Dexmon tried to hit her with its arms. However, it did not do so well.

"Holy Fire!" the pink dragon spit again a flame swirl on it and almost at the same time dodged an arm again.

"That's how we could do it!" Davis said euphorically.

"The problem is that Magnadramon's attacks are rather weak." Kari explained: "And she can't hold her level for as long as she would defeat Dexmon."

Magnadramon flew away and landed next to her partner before digivolving to Gatomon.

"There's no point in attacking Dexmon. It's constantly regenerating." the cat digimon said.

Meanwhile, Seraphimon began analysing the enemy:

/It is constantly regenerating... So someone would have to use an extremely strong attack to put Dexmon out of action. Combining all our attacks-/

"Seraphimon!" T.K. warned him.

"Huh?" the angel-digimon looked up and realized that a claw was approaching him.

Seraphimon tried to dodge, but it was already too late. The claw knocked him to the ground. Exhausted, the Seraphimon turned back to Patamon. When Dexmon wanted to deal the death blow, Spinomon stood protectively over the little hamster and caught the blow. Immediately, Matt's brother ran to his partner and brought him to safety, while Spinomon intercepted the blows. Then the dinosaur fired blue flames on the enemy. However, it was quite unimpressed and grabbed Spinomon by the neck before it caused him to crash to the bottom.

"Grah!" the dinosaur's voice rang out.

His tail hit Dexmon, but it caught it with his right claw and twisted it painfully. The opponent let go of Spinomon's neck and wanted to pierce him with his hand.

"Forbidden Temptation!" Rosemon created a vortex of petals and prevented Dexmon from piercing the dinosaur.

Sluggishly, Spinomon rose and, like the others, re-digitized to his rookie level. Armadillomon then dragged himself to Cody before collapsing.

"Armadillomon!" his partner shouted, gently hugging him.

The rose woman flew behind the enemy and again began her attack consisting of a swirl of petals. The attack hit Dexmon on the back and made it bend forward.

"Plasma Shoot!" Magnamon seized the opportunity and fired several drones at the enemy.

"Garuru Cannon!" Omnimon could and no longer wanted to watch and fired an energy beam.

"If you're attacking Dexmon..." Dynasmon growled and wrapped himself in a bluish aura: "Breath of Wyvern!"

A wyvern raced to Dexmon and hit it along with the other two attacks before Rosemon tried to attack it with one of her thorn whips. The opponent grabbed the rose woman's body and then hurled it into a building. Mimi's eyes widened and she inevitably ran to her partner, who was now Palmon again.

"Are you seriously injured, Palmon?" she asked.

"I… I am fine..." she moaned.

Meanwhile, Izzy bit his lower lip. He had guessed that their partner could not defeat Dexmon. It constantly regenerated. In addition, it was under the influence of King Drasil, which made matters even more difficult, because the deity was able to control Dexmon at will.

"There's no point in attacking it." Alphamon said as he watched the enemy with his golden eyes.

"Why? We have to keep trying!" cried Tai.

"Dexmon is under King Drasil's influence. So King Drasil can control Dexmon." Izzy explained with narrow eyes: "In addition, it also begins to connect with the Earth's ecosystem."

"It takes about ten minutes to do that." Hackmon said suddenly.

"And how do you know that?!" asked Akira, irritated.

"The Homeostasis just told me." the four-footed dragon replied.

"And how exactly did the Homeostasis explain it to you?" was Sera's question.

"The Homeostasis keeps sending me messages." Hackmon looked at the opponent, sighing heavily: "It also recognizes that we need a massive attack to defeat it."

"And no one can carry out such an attack." Matt said thoughtfully.

"Why do we need a massive attack?" asked the brown-haired man.

"Dexmon is constantly regenerating." Omnimon said: "And it had collected the data from our attacks so that it could accelerate its regeneration even faster."

"That's why it attacked us and then it disappeared again." Magnamon raved, narrowing his eyes.

"So it knows exactly how we're going to attack it." Tai said.

"What if we attacked it with other levels?" suggested Davis.

"What exactly do you mean, Davis?" T.K.'s brother asked him.

"We're just going to attack it with perfect-level Digimon, or in Omnimon's case with WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, and in Magnamon's case with Flamedramon or Raidramon." the red-brown-haired man explained.

"Your approach is good, Davis..." Ken began: "But there's a problem."

"And that would be?"

"Dexmon can regenerate. So if we use even weaker attacks, it will have even less impact." Izzy said.

"So it doesn't work." sighed Mimi.

"Yes." Joe agreed.

"How can we defeat it?" was T.K.'s question.

"What about this fusion?" replied Sora.

"What fusion?" asked Yolei.

"Ah! This fusion." Kari recalled: "But... our partners can no longer digivolve to their ultimate-level... They are far too exhausted."

"I still don't quite understand..." said Hawkmon's partner.

"To defeat Ordinemon, the partners have fused with Omnimon." Matt said.

With the name Ordinemon, Meiko shuddered and gritted her teeth. Today was, after all, the day. The day she died.

"And how's that going to work now, Matt?!" was Tai's question.

"It's not going to work." T.K.'s brother said.

"Hm... A massive attack..." Cody pondered.

"I could do defeat it with Dragon-" Dynasmon began.

"Don't you dare!" Omnimon, Alphamon, Magnamon and Hackmon immediately interrupted him.

Akira's partner looked at the four with a penalty. Why didn't they want him to use this attack? The interruption basically only let his anger rose higher at the current situation.

"This attack is far too powerful. We don't want to destroy the whole city!" shouted the four-footed dragon.

"You can't control the force of the attack." the fused Digimon continued.

"Not to mention what happened last time." the golden knight recalled: "You destroyed an entire forest."

"And the penultimate time. You've destroyed a whole mountain." Hackmon said.

"What exactly does the attack do?" asked Sera.

She was curious how exactly the attack might take place.

"Dynasmon collected energy, then releases it and collects it again in a fist, which he then hits on the ground." Dorumon's ultimate-level explained.

"The destructive power is so powerful that it could destroy the whole of Tokyo." Magnamon sighed.

"And with the city also us, our partners and many humans and animals." Akira said coolly.

"Do you have a better idea?!" countered Wanyamon's ultimate-level annoyed.

"Honestly... no." Alphamon admitted: "Even if I use OwRyuken... the damage would be too small."

"And our combined attacks don't help?" the golden knight looked around.

"No." Omnimon replied, "Dexmon's recovery speed would still be too fast."

Everyone thought about it briefly. A few of the DigiDestined noticed that Dexmon did nothing while discussing how to stop it. Tai slowly went to Meiko, noting that she had been silent all the time.

"Is there anything?" he asked her softly.

"Huh?" she said, astonished.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes..."

"Meiko... I don't believe you." said the brown-haired man, putting his hand on her shoulder: "Something is wrong with you. You're not usually so silent."

Now Hackmon also started to turn around to his partner. He looked at her in question. He had already noticed that the black-haired woman was behaving strangely all the time. She was very silent as if she was immersed in her thoughts.

"He's right." said the four-footed dragon: "What's going on?"

"_Meiko._" she suddenly heard someone shout.

Meiko looked around. Had someone just called her? Or had she imagined it?

"_Meiko._" the voice sounded again.

"Did you call me, Kari?" asked the black-haired Gatomon's partner, as she initially believed the voice belonged to her.

"No." Kari replied: "I didn't call you."

"_Meiko._" that voice resounded.

Meiko's eyes widened as she became aware of who this voice belonged to.

"Meicoomon..." she breathed softly.

She looked around as her legs began to move.

"Meiko?" was Hackmon's question.

Eventually, the black-haired woman began to run.

"Meiko!" the four-footed dragon shouted, hurrying after her: "Wait!"

Tai also wanted to run after her, but Matt stopped her. The blonde-haired man shook his head and then pointed to Dexmon. He wanted to tell him to find a solution together. Meiko herself was just a burden, as Hackmon could not digivolve to his ultimate-level and she was immersed in thought and did nothing to solve the current problem.

* * *

Meiko ran and ran. Hackmon himself had quite a lot of trouble keeping up with her because she ran so fast. Again and again the black-haired woman stopped and looked around. This allowed her partner to catch some air. However, these breaks were far too short for him. After Meiko stopped for the fifth time, her partner asked her:

"What's going on, Meiko? Why are you running like this?"

She did not answer him, but began to run. Hackmon sighed and rushed after her. Why the black-haired woman stopped constantly only to run again was a mystery to him. However, he noticed that his partner was looking for someone. But who? Who was Meiko looking for?

After just over a minute, Meiko stopped again and looked around.

"M-Meiko..." the four-footed dragon moaned out of breath: "Please... I can't run... any longer…"

His partner still didn't seem to hear him. Although she stopped longer, she turned around and ran back. Hackmon rushed after her, but had to stop after only ten seconds... He couldn't do it more. He couldn't keep running.

"Meiko!" he shouted at her.

This finally seemed to be having an effect. She stopped and turned around again. The black-haired woman slowly walked to the four-footed dragon. However, she walked past him and stopped a metre away. Slowly, Hackmon's patience reached the end of the rope. He stood next to her and nudged her gently and then, when Meiko still didn't react, more vigorously, so that she lost her balance and hit the ground.

"Ow..." she moaned: "What is wrong with you, Hackmon?!"

"I could ask you that! You run and run and run without a real goal!" he complained: "What's going on with you? Why are you just running?"

"I... I thought I had heard Meicoomon..." she replied cautiously.

"It's completely impossible. Meicoomon has been dead for a year. She can't be reborn and-" he interrupted when something came to mind: "Did Meicoomon die right today from a year ago?"

"Y-yes..."

"Then it's possible." he said, jumping on a stone.

"What is possible?" Meiko asked him.

"Digimon who die in this world will return for exactly one day." Hackmon said.

"Then I didn't imagine that Meicoomon had called me?"

"Probably not," he replied simply.

"I want to meet her." she said.

"And where? We've been running for quite a while and we still haven't found her..."

"Hm..." Meiko began to think.

Where could Meicoomon be? There were so many places. Tai's old school... Where Meicoomon has digivolved to Meicrackmon... Where she and Palmon fought Ogremon... and many more places. And she was running out of time. It was already afternoon and Meicoomon wouldn't wander around for long.

"Where exactly did Meicoomon die?" Hackmon asked her.

"At the port of... Ueno." she swallowed down the lump and started running again.

"Wait for me, Meiko!" the four-footed dragon shouted.

Arriving at the harbour, Meiko saw a well-known orange figure on one of the jetties. Their eyes widened as they filled with tears. Hackmon himself recognized this figure, but remained at the beginning of the bridge while his eyes narrowed.

First the black-haired woman approached the figure with slow steps, then, as if she had turned a switch, she began to run.

"Meicoomon!" she shouted, standing in front of her former partner.

Meicoomon turned to her.

"_Meiko!_" she replied cheerfully, after which the person in question knelt down and hugged her.

But she hugged nothing but air. The cat digimon smiled anyway and stretched out her arms to her former partner as if she wanted to be lifted up and pressed on Meiko. The black-haired woman began to cry slightly with relief.

"I... I missed you so much, Meicoomon." Meiko sniffed.

"_Me too, Meiko!_" said Meicoomon: "_I missed you so much. I could see you, I could hear you, but... I couldn't talk to you... I saw that you were suffering... But, I couldn't help you._"

"Meicoomon..." she quipped: "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"_Why are you saying that? It wasn't your fault, Meiko._"

"I... If I had been stronger, you would not have died. If I had been able to appease you, then-"

"_Dan-dan!_" the cat digimon suddenly screamed, as if she were going wild, interrupting her former partner.

Meiko was startled, while Hackmon immediately prepared himself. Did Meicoomon want to attack his partner? He would definitely protect her. But then he remembered that the cat digimon was only a ghost in this world.

"Meicoomon?!" the eyes of the black-haired people widened with horror.

"_Sorry, Meiko._" Meicoomon said: "But you wouldn't have stopped. I know you."

"I... I know."

There was a silence between the two.

"_Can I talk to Hackmon?_" asked the cat digimon Meiko.

"Huh?" she looked at her, bewildered.

"_I want to talk to Hackmon._" she said.

"Okay..." she breathed a deep breath before shouting, "Hackmon! Can you come here, please!"

The four-footed dragon approached the two with slow steps, but kept a good distance from Meicoomon.

"_Dan-dan, Hackmon._" the cat digimon thanked him.

"Why?" Hackmon asked her.

"_You're here for Meiko!_" Meicoomon replied cheerfully: "_I'm very grateful for that._"

"I... I didn't deserve your thanks." he said: "I tried to kill you."

"_You just wanted to help._"

The four-footed dragon looked to the ground, wanted to protest, but could not.

"_You have to defeat Dexmon... Otherwise King Drasil will win. Unlike me, it has no will..._" the cat digimon explained: "_Why I was able to act against his will. This made Omnimon and the others able to defeat me._"

"But how?" Meiko said desperately: "How can we defeat it? It has easily defeated several ultimate-level Digimon!"

"_I don't know, Meiko... I... can't do anything._"

"I can't do anything as well!" she screamed, tears streaming from her eyes over her cheeks.

The black-haired woman sneezed loudly and wiped the liquid away.

"_You have to find a way._" Meicoomon distanced herself from her, even though her legs weren't moving.

"Meicoomon!" shouted Meiko, hurrying after her.

The cat digimon "broke through" the parapet and floated out to sea. The black-haired woman clutched the parapet with one hand, while the other reached out for her. Meiko's eyes were filled with tears.

"_Never think I was unhappy, Meiko. I enjoyed my time with you._" Meicoomon said as she waved to her former partner.

"Meicoomon, please, stay!" the black-haired woman asked her: "Please stay, Meicoomon! I love you!"

"_Farewell Meiko... I'm glad I was your partner. I liked every second with you. Dan-dan! And you, Hackmon. Watch out for her!_" the cat-digimon smiled broadly and waved continuously.

"I will." Hackmon said: "I'm going to watch out for Meiko. I promise."

"_Dan-dan!_" shouted Meikuumon before disappearing.

Meiko screamed loudly and clutched the parapet with both hands. Her current partner stood next to her and rubbed his muzzle on her hip to somehow help her. The black-haired woman looked at him briefly before hugging him.

"Meiko..." he quipped.

After a while, Meiko spoke:

"Dan-dan..."

"Sht. I am with you. I promised Meicoomon to take care of you." he said, freeing himself from the hug.

With a firm look in his eyes, he looked at his partner. Then he began to smile slightly.

"I don't think Meicoomon wants to see you sad." he said.

"Yes... You are right... I always try to be strong, but it's so hard..." she sniffed.

"Meiko... You are strong. Otherwise I couldn't digitize to my perfect-level. You are strong in your way. It's okay if you cry. I would also cry in your place."

"Hackmon..." she began to smile: "Dan-dan. I'm glad you're by my side. I'm glad I have you. You give me strength."

"I'm happy about that." he said, with gratitude waving in his voice.

The black-haired woman smiled at him and got up. She looked up at the sea and cried,

"Dan-dan, Meicoomon! I needed it! I will never forget you!"

Hackmon jumped on the parapet. Meiko briefly wondered how he could keep the balance on the thin metal, but this question quickly displaced her.

"And I will always be with you." the four-footed dragon assured her: "I promise."

The black-haired woman took her partner's head in her hands and put her forehead on his.

"And I'm very grateful for that." she replied, before a light came out of her skirt bag.

Hackmon's eyes widened briefly. Then he wrapped himself in a light as Meiko went back.

"Hackmon warp digivolve to..." he shouted, before the light gave way and revealed his ultimate-level: "Jesmon!"

Meiko's eyes widened when she saw her partner. Jesmon looked down at her and then to the place where Dexmon was. His expression hardened and he narrowed his eyes.

"Jesmon?" his partner asked uncertainly.

The dragon man closed his eyes. Three energetic beings appeared next to his side. They spoke softly and incomprehensibly, so that the black-haired woman understood nothing. Jesmon wrapped himself in his cape and rushed off. Meiko was almost tossed over by the rising wind.

"Wait!" she shouted after him and started running.

The dragon man eventually reached where Dexmon was. It had just grabbed Magnamon by the neck and pushed him into a building. The golden knight briefly let out a scream before the enemy let go of his neck and wanted to pierce the claw into his unprotected belly.

"Magnamon!" cried Davis, and wanted to run to him.

Just in time Ken was able to grab him from behind and prevent him from doing his work.

"The last time you almost died." Wormmon's partner raved.

"Let me go, Ken! I have to help Magnamon!"

Omnimon, leaning against a half-destroyed wall of the house, raised his Garuru cannon and wanted to fire. But he had to close his eyes in pain, causing the beam to shoot right next to Dexmon. The fused Digimon let the cannon sink again and gasped in pain. He couldn't do anything. Basically, he could barely sustain the fusion. The enemy lifted the claw.

"Magnamon!" cried Davis, freeing himself from his friend's grip.

Suddenly a red lightning bolt appeared on the battlefield and stood protectively in front of Magnamon.

"Judgment of the Blade!" Jesmon performed several blows with his arm blades a few seconds later.

When he was done, he hurled Dexmon away with his tail blade. The three energetic beings who accompanied the dragon man attacked the enemy with their blades and pushed it further back. Meanwhile, Jesmon flew high into the air. The DigiDestined and their partner looked at Jesmon in disbelief.

"Un Pour Tous!" Por, Atho and René rushed to the dragon man and formed a triangle under him.

Then Jesmon thrust his arm blades into the triangle, igniting a powerful laser. Dexmon was covered by the beam and screamed in agony. The attack lasted a few seconds until it faded. There was no trace of the enemy.

"Jesmon… You…" Alphamon panted, before he digivolved to Dorumon exhausted.

"Unbelievable..." groaned Dynasmon and became Wanyamon again.

Magnamon paused for a moment before returning to his rookie level as well. Omnimon himself wrapped himself in a light that soon after revealed Agumon and Gabumon, both unconscious. Jesmon landed on the ground. The three energetic beings flew by his side before disappearing.

"Jesmon!" a voice shouted.

It was Meiko who looked at him out of breath. Her partner looked at her briefly before he wrapped himself in a light. This revealed a small, black fur ball a little later. The black-haired woman ran to her partner and lifted him up.

"I am hungry..." Botamon complained.

Meiko began to laugh.

"You could at least have said something." she laughed.

"Sorry... Do you have something to eat now?" the black fur ball asked.

"Unfortunately no. You have to be patient."

The other DigiDestined, their partners and Dorumon, joined the two.

"Has... Has Hackmon just reached his ultimate-level and has he defeated Dexmon?" asked Sora incredulously.

"Yes... Can I have something to eat now?!" was Botamon's impatient question.

"Why are you so hungry?" Davis asked him.

"He used OC Generics... this ability is very powerful." Dorumon explained.

"Exactly. And could I eat something now!" complained the black fur ball.

"Okay..." Meiko smiled at him and gently stroked over his fur.

"I think we could all use something to eat." said Sera, whose words were amplified by her stomach growling.

"Shouldn't we call Shin first to make sure you're fine?" asked Akira her mother.

"Ah right." she said, while her daughter called Shin.

Everyone was moving. Tai placed his hand on Meiko's shoulder.

"What exactly happened?" was his question as he held the unconscious Agumon in his arms.

"We met Meicoomon..." the black-haired woman explained: "She and Hackmon gave me strength, which allowed him to digivolve to Jesmon."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... I'm glad we met Meicoomon." she said, smiling at him.

"I'm happy about that." Tai said with a brief kiss on her forehead.

"Where are you?" asked Matt.

"We're coming!" the brown-haired man shouted, hurrying after the others along with his girlfriend.

Meiko stopped for a short time and turned around briefly. Botamon looked up at her.

/Dan-dan, Meicoomon./ she thought to herself before a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I will be always with you, Meiko..." said the black fur ball.

"I know..." she replied, smiling at him.

Then she turned around again and rushed after her friends.


	42. Chapter 42 - Chaos

Chapter 42 – Chaos

Meiko's partner Koromon devoured the apple in a whole piece and chewed on it for a while. He sat next to his partner and looked around. He was still quite exhausted by his "first" digivolution to the ultimate-level and the use of OC Generics. In the meantime, however, he has successfully digivolved to his in-training level.

Next to the black-haired was Tai, who looked at the fire in the middle. Matt sat across from him while Agumon and Gabumon were already asleep. Davis sighed resignedly and looked at Veemon, who had made himself comfortable in his lap, while Dorumon himself dozed in front of him. Meanwhile, Akira stroked over the fur of Wanyamon, who slept in her lap.

The small group was currently in the digital world because they wanted to put an end to King Drasil's madness. Actually, everyone was supposed to come with them into the digital world, but if the god appeared in the other world, it would be defenceless, which is why only certain humans went into the digital world. Now, a good three hours after the departure, the group had made themself comfortable.

"Dorumon..." began Tai.

The purple dragon sluggishly opened an eye and stared at him. Then he straightened up and yawned extensively.

"There's something that's been occupying me for a while." the brown-haired man continued.

"And that would be?"

"Why didn't King Drasil attack us earlier?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"When we were in the digital world for the first time... It could have attacked us because our partners couldn't digivolve to their ultimate-level at the time." Matt explained instead of his friend.

"King Drasil used to be concerned about the safety of the digital world and the inhabitants of it..." Dorumon sighed: "But one day it changed abruptly... why, I don't know."

"That would mean... that King Drasil accepted us until it changed." Davis concluded.

"Yes. That's the way it is." the purple dragon confirmed.

"But why had it changed?" asked Koromon.

"Good question..." Meiko said, and eventually sighed.

"A god who has gone mad." Akira said thoughtfully, brushing her hand over Wanyamon's fur.

"How strong is King Drasil?" was Matt's question.

"I don't know." Dorumon replied depressed.

"You're the one who should always stop him." replied the pink digimon, devouring another apple.

"It's my job... but King Drasil sees me as a traitor at the moment, because I am against him." the purple dragon sighed: "Normally I just have to talk to King Drasil so that he can see his mistakes... But since I had supported it, it assumed that it had not made a mistake. Now I have betrayed King Drasil, so it won't listen to me anymore."

"But you should try." Davis encouraged him: "Talking helps... Otherwise Ken would still be the Digimon Emperor and enslave the Digimon with black rings and dark spirals."

The red-brown-haired man smiled mischievously and leaned against the wall, his eyes closed.

"There's something I want to tell you." Akira suddenly began.

"We already know you're Sera's daughter." Davis said, reopening his eyelids.

Wanyamon's partner shook her head. She shook her partner, who immediately looked at her angrily. Akira laid him on the floor and pulled her legs towards her chest. Meanwhile, Tai rose up and woke u Agumon and Gabumon. When everyone was awake, Sera's daughter sighed.

"The reason I'm telling it now is because of my kidnapping by Crusadermon. I had a lot of time to think..." she looked into the distance: "One of the things was that when I come back, I'll tell you why I am who I am."

Matt swallowed something because he knew exactly what she meant.

"Is that okay for you?" he asked her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You know what's going on with her?" was Meiko's surprised question.

"She told me shortly after our argument and before we met Quetzalmon..." the blonde-haired man replied.

"Sera and Shin..." she began to say: "They once had a child... Mika, was her name. She had been diagnosed with leukaemia, which led to my... Mother and Shin were looking for a donor. I was eligible and they wanted to take the bone marrow from me... But I was scared because of a trauma I had then I was younger. So I ran and stayed away from home for a whole week. When I came back, I learned that my sister had died."

"Akira..." said the brown-haired man, and stood up and wanted to go to her.

The human in question shook her head and sighed heavily before continuing:

"It was entirely my fault that Mika had died. As a result, I changed so much that I recognized me anymore."

"Akira." Wanyamon said, hopping into her lap.

"I don't think even this bone marrow donation could have changed anything." Koromon said.

"He's right." Agumon said: "I don't know what leukaemia or a bone marrow donation is... However-"

"Even if your sister got the bone donation, she would have died shortly after. I am certain." Gabumon concluded.

Meiko straightened up and sat down next to Akira with her partner in her arms. Then she put a hand on her shoulder and smiled cheerfully at her.

"Hey. It's bad what happened to your sister and I can understand that you're making accusations because maybe the donation could have saved her life." Veemon said.

"Veemon!" Davis exasperated, giving him a head nut: "We're trying to cheer her up, not the opposite!"

"So should he tell her that her decision was right?" asked Dorumon: "You all say it nicely that Akira ran away and this Mika died as a result."

"Stop arguing!" Wanyamon told her: "It's hard for Akira to talk about it. She struggles with her self-reproach. And the only things you do are talking nicely or leaving her alone with her accusations! It's just inappropriate as we're looking for King Drasil, but you should support her! Each property influences others to reach the next form!"

"Wanyamon..." Akira's eyes widened with his honest words and she lifted him up before she pressed him and muttered: "Thank you."

The others remained silent and thought carefully through the words of the in-training digimon.

"I'd have a short question." Tai began: "Why are you telling us now and not the others?"

"Because I trust you more." Akira replied.

The group then remained silent again, while a thunderstorm was announced in front of the cave. Several raindrops fell from the sky to the earth and within a few seconds a soft-sounding noise could be heard.

* * *

After the night was over, the group continued their search for Yggdrasil. Or rather they tried, because Yggdrasil was constantly changing the digital world. A few minutes ago, the group was still on a steppe. After that, the surroundings suddenly changed to a beach. Now they were in a forest and walked through the scrub.

"A quick question, Dorumon." Wanyamon began: "Where is King Drasil?"

"You don't know?" the purple dragon looked at him.

"Ten thousand years of sleep." the in-training digimon replied simply: "All my memories have been greatly blurred due to several reboots of the digital world."

"Yggdrasil itself is in a digital space that can only be reached through the forest of origin..."

"And how can we reach this forest?" asked Davis.

"Not at all." Gabumon replied.

"King Drasil is constantly changing the digital world so that we don't reach this forest." Koromon explained.

"And why are we in the digital world?" was Matt's question.

"King Drasil is not perfect. At some point it will make a mistake and we will end up in the forest of origin." Dorumon said.

"And how long will it take?" asked Akira, irritated.

She was slowly tired of wandering through the digital world without any clue.

"We can't really assess that." Agumon said.

"That means we could walk through the digital world for a good day." Tai concluded.

"Basically yes." Meiko said, sighing.

Suddenly the area changed and everyone slipped down a slope. They landed on the ground with a dull impact.

"Ow..." the yellow dinosaur moaned.

"Have you caught our fall again?" the brown-haired man asked.

"Y-yes..."

"It's even more awkward at the rookie level." complained Hackmon, who was back to his rookie level when he slipped: "Meiko. Please go down from me."

"Sorry." the black-haired woman stood up.

"Are you okay, Akira?" was Wanyamon's question, who was the only digimon who didn't land underneath of someone.

Nevertheless, he hit the ground with his face. By now, however, he had stood up again and was now shaking his little body.

"Yes." she confirmed: "Something is under me."

"I caught your fall." said Dorumon, who was lying under the young woman.

Veemon also moaned.

"D-Davis!" he quipped: "You're heavy!"

"What did you say?!" he said angrily.

"It was like a year ago when we fled from those infected digimon..." Matt recalled after he got up.

"King Drasil changed the digital world at the time so that different Digimon could attack us." Gabumon said.

"We should definitely move on." Tai said, moving.

The others followed him tacitly. But both Hackmon and Veemon moaned, as their partners had landed very unfavourably on them.

"First a forest, then a savannah, then another forest, a swamp, then again a savannah, a steppe, for the third time a forest, a mountain, a beach, again a forest, a hill and now again a steppe. I can't do more!" protested Davis after a while: "The digital world is constantly changing!"

"We have already explained why this happens..." Veemon sighed: "King Drasil is constantly changing the digital world."

"At least we know where we are." Agumon said, smiling a little.

"And where?" asked Akira.

"Near Primary Village." Tai explained, pointing to a giant cube.

"Primary Village?" the red-brown-haired man repeated.

"That's where Digimon are reborn. I guess Veemon and the others were also born there after they died." Dorumon said in a somewhat uncertain voice.

He remembered controlling the blue dragon, Wormmon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon, and had them fight the DigiDestined, even though they didn't want to.

"Maybe Elecmon can help us." Gabumon said: "He's a Royal Knight after all. Maybe he has an idea of how we get to the forest of origin."

"Elecmon is a Royal Knight?" Matt replied thoughtfully.

He didn't like the idea that way. The guardian of the city had always been a very friendly Digimon. Imagining him as a Royal Knight was difficult for the blond-haired man to imagine.

As the group approached Primary Village, something began to growl.

"Was that your stomach, Meiko?" was Hackmon's question, while an uneasy feeling grew in him.

"No. My stomach would never growl so loudly." she replied, unsure, biting her lower lip.

Shortly after the purple dragon's ears heard the growl, his entire body tensed. He began to growl slightly and gritted his teeth. Veemon, who dismissed the growl as a stomach-churning, slightly patted Dorumon's head and smiled at him afterwards. He passed him and the group, because he was very curious about the said village. Suddenly, a sword wrapped in flames slammed down on him. Just like that, the blue dragon could jump to the side and dodge the weapon.

"Hackmon warp-digivolve to-" just as he wanted to wrap himself in a light, Dorumon bit him in the tail, which stopped his digivolution.

"Don't waste your energy, Hackmon." the purple dragon instructed him.

"Ow..." he moaned.

The attacker jumped backwards and growled again.

"A Dorbickmon..." Wanyamon noted: "They're pretty rare."

"Dorbickmon are pretty aggressive." Gabumon said, darkly recalling that he had known a Dorbickmon.

"And pugnacious." Agumon added.

"Hey!" complained Dorbickmon: "I'm not pugnacious and aggressive! You are just invaders who want to attack Primary Village!"

"Why should we do this?" asked Tai.

"What do I know. I don't care, okay?!" he placed his sword in front of his body.

Dorumon only narrowed his eyes, but wanted to wait and see.

"Okay, lizard... I don't know what your problem is..." Wanyamon growled: "But if you don't let us pass us, we'll take you down. And on the hard way. Don't joke around with the Royal Knights, got it?"

"Royal Knights... Like Craniamon, who had attacked the village?" Dorbickmon was ready to attack.

The purple dragon listened to the names of the Royal Knight.

"Craniamon attacked Primary Village?" asked Dorumon, astonished: "Did King Drasil command him to do so?"

"Yes..." the dragon man narrowed his eyes.

"That King Drasil would go that far." Alphamon's rookie level raved angrily, before taking a deep breath: "Dorbickmon. Could you please let us to Elecmon? We need his help."

"And what if you want to attack the village?!"

"We're not going to attack the city, Dorbickmon." Akira said.

"Prove it to me." Dorbickmon demanded: "Prove to me that you will not attack the village. Then I will let you go."

"Dorbickmon!" shouted another voice.

The DigiDestined, their partners and the dragon man looked up and saw a red-scaled dragon, which landed a little later next to the latter.

"Examon." Agumon and Gabumon said, and went to the giant dragon.

"Hm?" Examon had to think briefly before it came to him and he bent down to the two: "Ah. Omnimon... Nice to see you again... Although... Shouldn't I address you by your names instead of calling you Omnimon?"

"That would be nice." Gabumon said.

"Thank you for coming!" the yellow dinosaur rejoiced: "Could you please tell this Dorbickmon that we will not attack Primary Village?"

"Sorry..." Examon looked at the group with indistinct eyes: "But since Craniamon attacked the village, we haven't let anyone in."

"But we need Duftmon's help!" the reptile digimon replied sharply: "We have to go into the forest of origin."

"What do you want there?" Dorbickmon asked incredulously: "Look at the fog?"

"No. We can't say it." Dorumon said.

"However, King Drasil wants to prevent this." Tai continued.

"Why we've been everywhere! Except in the sea." Davis said, his arms entwined in front of his chest.

"We notice these changes all the time," the dragon man raved: "If it's really King Drasil, then I'll help you. The baby-digimon get really excited about this and I don't want the red fur ball to snort at me."

"Red fur ball?" asked Hackmon.

"He means Elecmon..." the dragon smiled a little: "The two can't stand each other. But back to the subject. How do you want to get into the forest of origin?"

"Dorbickmon can affect the ley lines, or am I wrong?" said Veemon.

"Yes... And?" said Dorbickmon.

"We could make use of this by influencing the ley lines, Dorbickmon, so that we can go into this forest. Once we're there, King Drasil won't get us out." Dorumon said.

"It looks like a plan!" said Davis: "Well! What are we waiting for?"

"Do you even know what ley lines are?" the dragon man asked him.

"No, do we even have time for that?"

"Actually not." Tai replied.

"Ley lines are actually energy streams below the digital world. They influence the boundary between this and other worlds, including yours." said the purple dragon: "The ley lines bundle at a point in the digital world, that is, where the entrance to King Drasil's digital intermediate dimension is located, which is why even he is unable to control the entire forest."

"I don't understand anything anymore..." the red-brown-haired man laughed dryly too.

"I don't either." Akira replied.

"You don't have to." said Dorbickmon, taking a deep breath: "As soon as I smash my sword into the ground and try to control the ley lines, you have to hurry. It costs me a lot of power to influence ley lines at all... I'll give you about ten minutes. Until then, you must have found the forest of origin. Otherwise..."

He didn't need to say any more.

"I would suggest that we all reach our highest level and then we fly." Hackmon suggested: "That should make us faster."

"Good idea." Veemon agreed: "Davis!"

"Good. DigiMental of Mircale, up!" Davis excalled the said DigiMental.

"Veemon armor-digivolved to... Magnamon, Warrior of Miracles!"

"Ready, Gabumon?" asked Agumon.

"Yes." replied the reptile digimon: "Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!"

"Agumon warp-digivolve to... WarGreymon!"

"MetalGarurumon..."

"WarGreymon..."

"DNA digivolution to..." they both shouted, before fusing: "Omnimon!"

"Hackmon warp-digivolve to... Jesmon!"

"Dorumon warp-digivolve to... Alphamon!"

"Okay!" Tai said euphorically, slapping his left fist into the right palm of his hand: "Then let's look for this forest!"

The DigiDestined and their partners left the two dragon digimon and rushed away. Examon followed them with his eyes, while Dorbickmon knelt down and put his forehead on the sheath of the sword. He exhaled and closed his eyes to concentrate better. After less than six minutes, the dragon man collapsed and breathed heavily in and out.

"Dorbickmon!" the dragon shouted in concern for his friend.

He laughed only as he rose and pulled the sword out of the ground.

"Damn... Thought that I... could hold out… longer..." he panted, leaning against his sword, which he used as a support.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…"

"Rest." he instructed him, "Shall I take you back to the cave?"

"Yes. Don't feel like arguing with fur ball."

* * *

Fog as far as the eye could see. You couldn't even see your hand in front of your eyes. Jesmon had wrapped himself in his cape and pulled his hood over his eyes. Even with the aviator glasses he wore up to his ultimate-level, he couldn't see anything. Near him flew Magnamon, who had narrowed his eyes while Alphamon flew in front of the whole group. Shortly after him, Omnimon followed. Dynasmon was the last. Although his right wing was completely healed, it still hurt. The ultimate-level of Wanyamon therefore had to fly slower than the others and fell further and further behind.

"Where do you stay?" the dragon man asked him: "You fall back."

"I know..." Dynasmon sighed, hitting his wings vigorously as he gritted his teeth.

With each movement, the purple wing hurt. Akira, who rode on his left shoulder and held on to his horn with the help of her hand, looked anxiously into his face.

"Don't make such a face, Akira." her partner asked.

"I know." she smiled at him: "You don't like it when you're worried."

Dynasmon nodded to her and hit her wings vigorously.

"Woah... The fog is dense." groaned Davis, who sat on Alphamon's right shoulder plate, as his partner couldn't carry him.

"This is for security," the black knight explained: "So that no one can easily reach the entrance to the digital space. But I know the way, so it won't be a problem for me."

"R-really?" Meiko, who rode on Alphamon's other shoulder plate for the same reason, didn't sound quite so convinced.

"Trust him!" exclaimed Matt: "He's no longer in control of Piedmon's sphere."

"Yeah. If he behaves strangely, we will tear him apart and patch him up again." Magnamon assured her.

Both Tai and Davis and Jesmon had to start laughing because the choice of words was not the best.

"And why are you laughing now?" was the golden knight's question.

"Your choice of words was just weird." his partner said.

"Yes, yes. Just laugh." Magnamon grumbled.

"Hey. Don't have such a short mind."

Davis' partner digimon narrowed his eyes

"Oh-oh." Omnimon muttered, as he knew what was coming next.

"I'm not short!" the golden knight raved.

"What's wrong with you all the sudden?" his partner asked, astonished.

"He's only sensitive in terms of size." Alphamon said.

"I am not!" cried Magnamon, flying past the black knight: "At least I'm not as small as Gankoomon!"

With his name, Jesmon tensed and he stopped abruptly, so that Dynasmon almost flew into him. All the Royal Knights stopped and turned to the Dragon Man.

"Jesmon?" Meiko asked him cautiously.

"Is..." her partner began, but had to swallow: "Is Master Gankoomon still alive?"

"Probably." Alphamon replied, sighing heavily: "He was still alive when I betrayed King Drasil."

"Will we meet him?"

"Probably."

"You keep saying probably, Alphamon... So we may not see Master Gankoomon."

"You don't want to fight him, do you?" said Matt.

"I... Master Gankoomon was a part of my last life... However..."

"But?" repeated Meiko.

"I don't know how I'm going to react when we meet him. I don't know if I have the strength to fight him at all."

"You don't have to fight him, Jesmon..." Tai replied.

The group remained silent a bit until Alphamon got moving again. The other Royal Knights followed him. Eventually, the fog cleared and the group reached a clearing with a meter-high tree.

"I can't remember there being a tree." Magnamon said.

"I don't either." the black knight replied, landing.

Alphamon narrowed his eyes, while the others landed as well.

"I don't like the whole situation." said Omnimon, who had landed next to his black counterpart.

"I don't like it either... It's almost like..."

"A trap." Matt concluded the sentence.

"So King Drasil is already waiting for us." Akira concluded.

"Probably." Dynasmon raved.

"What are we doing now?" asked Davis.

"We're going to have to fall into the trap." Magnamon replied.

"Isn't that... careless?" was Meiko's question.

"Yeah... But do we have any other choice?" asked Tai: "We have to go to King Drasil."

The black knight took a few steps before his eyes widened and he saw a bright energy stubble. He jumped back, so the bullet narrowly missed him. Then he bent down and grabbed the two people from his shoulder plates and put them on the floor before he bent down.

Wanyamon's ultimate-level himself handed his claw to his partner, who climbed on top of it before sliding his hand to the ground. Akira jumped down and looked at him tacitly before looking forward. Several Knightmons appeared, led by a human-like digimon with a white coat that hung loosely from the shoulders. Jesmon narrowed his eyes and clenched his golden claws when he saw the digimon.

"Master Gankoomon..." he quipped.

His voice was accompanied by eyes that showed a mixture of sadness and pain.

"Jesmon..." Gankoomon replied: "Last time you weren't at your ultimate-level."

"Yes." the dragon man exhaled deeply: "So you support King Drasil?"

"Exactly. But I accept the path you have taken, even though it is wrong."

"The path is not wrong, Master!" cried Jesmon.

"I'm not going to show mercy because you used to be my student."

The dragon man gritted his teeth and wrestled with himself for a few seconds before rushing on his former master with his blades drawn.

"However, you are still as careless as you were then, Jesmon."

From Gankoomon's shoulder, a yellow figure raced toward Jesmon. The Knightmon also prepared to attack the group.

"Don't get involved in the fight with me and Jesmon!" the man commanded: "Just attack the others."

Jesmon summoned Por, Atho and René, who attacked the energetic being of Gankoomon. When the four figures were involved in a smaller battle, the dragon man rushed to his master and wanted to put him down with his right arm blade at the same moment. The man slammed his arm to the side, made a spin around his own axis and kicked his opponent firmly in the stomach. Jesmon was thrown several meters back and landed with his back on the ground.

Meanwhile, Alphamon summoned his OwRyuken sword, turning his spikes on the metal parts on his back into long, golden flights, while Omnimon pulled the Grey blade.

"Tai, Matt." the fused Digimon said to his partners: "We're going to make our way to this tree."

"And that means?" asked Tai.

"We're going to ride Omnimon again and hit a path to this tree with him and the others." Matt said.

Dynasmon went to Omnimon's side and spoke sharply:

"No. We will only help you reach the tree. You have to fight King Drasil alone."

"Why?" was the black knight's question, looking over his shoulder at Wanyamon's ultimate-level: "King Drasil is strong. We need to work together to defeat him."

"The Knightmon will follow us, which will make the fight against King Drasil even harder." said Magnamon, who then killed an approaching Knightmon.

"Jesmon and the others have already guessed that this is going to happen here, so we decided that only you go. The rest stays here and fights the Knightmon." Akira said.

"Good." Tai looked up to the fused Digimon and nodded.

He nodded back before leaning down and hoisting his two partners on his shoulders. Omnimon took a deep breath and got ready.

"If Knightmon get in your way, don't hesitate to kill them, Omnimon. Our goal is this tree." Alphamon said.

"Understood. On three."

"Good. One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" they both shouted.

Dynasmon flapped his wings and raced behind the two. Eventually, he jumped up and flew over the two before landing again and killing a Knightmon with his claw. Another one was defeated with a green laser. Meanwhile, Magnamon fired several torpedoes at two Knight Digimons, which stood in Omnimon and Alphamon's way. The black knight and his white counterpart rushed past Wanyamon's mega-level.

As the two made their way, eventually reached their goal and disappeared from the battlefield, Jesmon continued to fight his former champion.

"Jishin! Kaminari! Kaji! Oyaji! " Gankoomon screamed, before his energetic creature flew towards the dragon man.

He blocked the attack with ease, while the man grinned. He raced to his former students and, while still busy with the energetic being, slapped him in the stomach, so that he bent forward and his eyes widened.

"Your side was wide open, Jesmon." Gankoomon said.

Jesmon himself did not answer him, but tried to hurl him away with his tail blade. The man who had already suspected this movement jumped into the air and landed on the blade while he gave his former student another punch, this time in the chest.

The dragon man bent forward and collapsed to the ground. There he stayed and did not move. Gankoomon was sure Jesmon had lost consciousness and devoted himself to his former student's partner, who, along with Davis and Akira, was on the edge of the battlefield. It was a miracle that none of the Knightmon had attacked the three humans... But that would change now. As the man walked away from Jesmon and walked towards the three, the dragon man jeered:

"Stop... I won't allow... that you attack... Meiko..."

Por, Atho and René appeared and placed themselves in front of his partner and their friends before creating a sign. Slowly, Gankoomon turned back to his former pupil and punched his fist in his back.

"Gah!" the dragon man shouted.

"Jesmon!" cried the black-haired woman, wanting to leave the protective field of the three energetic beings.

One of the beings briefly separated from the others and stood in front of Meiko. He drove them back to the others before flying back to the other two.

/You... are sentient?/, she noted astonished.

"So, so... You give up the protection of Por, Atho and René?" the man asked: "I don't know if that was clever or stupid."

"Clever." said the dragon man, rising up.

"Why do you think so?"

"Meiko... I have made a promise to someone that I will protect her at any cost."

"Then you're stupid!" he cried, trying to slap his fist in Jesmon's chest.

He caught his fist with the wide side of his tail blade.

"Why am I stupid? Didn't you once teach me to protect those who are important to me? Meiko is important to me, my friends are important to me... **you** are important to me."

"Why are we fighting each other?"

"Because you don't give me a choice. King Drasil's path is wrong. The digital world... it can only exist with the human's world. As soon as the human's world ceases to exist, the digital world will suffer the same fate!"

"Did you know that from the Homeostasis?"

"Yes." he admitted.

"So you believe the Homeostasis, a creature that no one has ever seen before, rather than me?"

"Of course not! But you have to admit that King Drasil's path is wrong!"

"Then let me ask you this. Why do you support the Homeostasis?"

"The Homeostasis..." he had to think longer.

Why had he supported or did support the Homeostasis?

"You can't answer me." Gankoomon concluded: "Then it's pointless to talk to you."

The man prepared the next attack.

"It isn't pointless!" cried Jesmon: "Master... The reason I followed the Homeostasis... King Drasil only watched when Alphamon and Omnimon were so divided that they fought each other. And with them we too! Through our dispute, someone attacked us and killed everyone except me, Alphamon, Dynasmon and Magnamon. The latter two were badly wounded and they had to rest for a long time... I and Alphamon, on the other hand, we were so devastated that we couldn't continue. We wondered how this could have happened in the first place. We wanted to know this from King Drasil... But it didn't answer us."

Gankoomon's facial features became very serious and he seemed to think about the words for a while. He remembered how UlforceVeedramon and even Craniamon ultimately doubted King Drasil's path... and he had doubted once, but then his lord spoke to him and gave him a satisfactory answer. So why didn't the god give Jesmon and Alphamon the answer they so desperately needed?

"Instead..." the dragon man continued: "Instead, the Homeostasis answered us. It said that King Drasil could not intervene... Then I decided to join it and act as its messenger... Alphamon, on the other hand, just wanted to be alone. What I didn't know at the time was that he met the Homeostasis alone and they agreed to something. Alphamon became Gennai without me knowing anything about it. Time passed... I saw the first DigiDestined from a distance... I saw everything the Dark Masters did... I was always lonely. Alone. I cursed myself... I kept wondering. Why? Why did I survive? At some point, the Homeostasis offered me that I would become the partner of a human. It would have found a human for me... Meiko Mochizuki was this human. But then King Drasil created Meicoomon, who one day would destroy the human's world... That's why the Homeostasis sent her to Meiko... Nothing happened for a while until at some point King Drasil began his plan to destroy the human world. I fought Alphamon, I fought Meicoomon. I saw Meiko suffer... And again I wondered... Did that even make sense? After Meicoomon died, I went to Gennai. When I met him, he revealed himself as Alphamon. My last hope fell apart and I let him kill me. I was reborn and ended up with Meiko... From then on, I was so happy."

"Jesmon..." Meiko said when she heard the whole story.

Her partner looked at her and nodded at her. Then he looked with serious eyes again at his former master.

"You have now learned my reason why I no longer follow King Drasil..." Jesmon said: "The one who freed me from my loneliness and grief was Meiko. I would never betray her."

Gankoomon smiled at the dragon man.

"You may be one of them. But I can now understand your decision... I'm not going to stand in your way anymore... But I will not help you either. It's your path, Jesmon. It's stony and tough. You are no longer the Digimon who wanted to become a Royal Knight. You're a Royal Knight who found his path." he said, turning around: "We're guaranteed to see each other again, Jesmon, Meiko."

He started running. A few Knightmon stood in his way, but he stretched them down with ease before disappearing between the trees. The dragon man looked after him, but then noticed a Knightmon approaching him. Jesmon wanted to attack it, but suddenly the big tree exploded in the clearing, followed by a pressure wave that killed all the Knightmon, while the dragon man was thrown to the ground. Dynasmon and Magnamon also hit into the ground and were left lying. Por, Atho and René successfully protected the three humans before they flew to Jesmon completely exhausted and then disappeared. Akira, Meiko and Davis took the chance and rushed to their partner digimon, who a short time later returned to their in-training levels. Then they noticed like a figure shaped like a crystal, disappeared into a distortion.

"What... was that?" asked Sera's daughter.

"No idea..." the red-brown-haired man quipped.

"It looked very weird..." the black-haired woman said, before seeing Tai and Matt: "Tai! Matt!"

She ran towards them with Koromon in her arms. Next to them were a Koromon, which was Agumon's in-training level, Tsunomon and a digimon with a purple coat and a white muzzle. The brown-haired man sat up and looked beside him to his partner.

"What happened?" Meiko asked him anxiously.

"We took on King Drasil... We fought it, but then it unleashed an explosion. Alphamon and Omnimon were fortunate to protect us..." he explained.

Davis and Akira eventually ran to them.

"The... what you saw there... was Yggdrasil..." explained the purple Digimon with a beeping voice.

"And you are?" was Davis' question.

"You don't recognize me? This is me... Alphamon... That's just my... in-training level... Dorimon!"

"And the huge crystal thing there? What was that?" Akira asked him.

"That was King Drasil's 7D6 form." Dorimon explained: "It's just fleeing into your world."

"What?!" all humans shouted.

"Y-yes..." he confirmed.

"Then we have to go there!" urged Sera's daughter.

"And how?" Matt asked: "Our digimon are completely exhausted."

"Damn." Tai cursed.

"What are we doing now?" asked Meiko uncertainly.

"We have to wait." the brown-haired man replied.

"But we can't wait!" cried Davis with a sly exclaimed.

"Davis..." DemiVeemon moaned: "We... can't… do… anything..."

"We have to wait... until we... are strong… enough again... " Meiko's partner said.

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!" the red-brown-haired gritted his teeth.

The group had to stay in the digital world. And their friends would certainly have no chance against King Drasil.


	43. Chapter 43 - Versus King Drasil

**Author's note:** Sorry for the late update. The bad news. My laptop broke down and I had to stop writing/translating for two weeks. The good news. I got a new one which is overall better.

Have fun reading witht his chapter.

* * *

Chapter 43 – Versus King Drasil

Mimi sighed with boredom. Tai, Matt, Meiko, Davis and Akira were in the digital world with their partner digimon and Dorumon, while the other DigiDestined only sat on sofas and did nothing. The whole situation was tense, as they all didn't know whether their friends would succeed in defeating the deity. Shin and Sera were also present. The latter was very worried about her daughter, which is why she impatiently kneaded her hands and shuddered at the slightest noise. Shin, who noticed his girlfriend's tenseness, placed his right hand on her thigh and smiled softly at her.

"Don't worry... Nothing will happen to her." he whispered.

"I know..." she sighed: "I'm worried... She's my daughter."

"Hey. Her partner is with her... and the others too, as well as Alphamon." he encouraged her.

"Thank you..."

Then there was a silence in the room again until at some point Cody spoke up.

"Why do the Royal Knights serve King Drasil?" he asked.

"Not all of them." Ken said: "Omnimon, Alphamon, Magnamon, Dynasmon, Jesmon, Gallantmon and Sleipmon don't serve King Drasil..."

"But we don't know if Examon and Duftmon serve King Drasil." Sora sighed.

She wanted to accompany her friends to King Drasil, but Matt didn't want to.

"I don't think so!" cried Biyomon.

"What makes you so safe?" was Gatomon's question.

"I don't know... But I don't think they're going to get in our way," the pink bird replied.

"Hm... What supporters does King Drasil still have? I'd love to see them!" Joe said.

"Good question." Gomamon replied.

"Guaranteed some more Knightmon." Wormmon sighed: "I remember Dynasmon, Crusadermon, and Gankoomon commanding them."

"Knightmons are perfect-level digimon, right?" Yolei asked.

"Yes." Shin confirmed, because he and his partner had once fought a few of them: "They're rather weak for perfect-level digimon."

"Then we wouldn't have to worry about Akira and the others?" asked Sera hopefully.

"They still have to put up a fight against King Drasil." Hawkmon said, smashing the burgeoning hope.

"So the question arises how strong King Drasil is..." T.K. said thoughtfully.

"I hope it won't be as strong as some of the opponents we've met." Patamon said, looking to the ground and recalling Devimon, whom he once fought.

"King Drasil will be strong, Patamon." Tentomon replied: "After all, it is the god of the digital world."

"But if it's so easy to shut it down, wouldn't it have to be relatively weak?" was Mimi's question.

"We don't know how the Homeostasis shut down King Drasil and it had help, for example from Jesmon." Izzy explained: "It's funny anyway, why we learned that King Drasil was shut down."

"What are you talking about?" Palmon asked him.

"I got a message saying that King Drasil was shut down by the Homeostasis... Sender unknown." the redhead said.

"Hm..." Armadillomon began to think: "Maybe it was Kudamon... or Guilmon..."

"That could be." Kari said: "I mean... Kudamon gave you information about King Drasil, didn't she? And Guilmon is the present messenger of the Homeostasis."

"So you think Kudamon had given us the information about King Drasil?" asked Gatomon.

"Yes... Kudamon seems to be very cooperative." Tai's sister suggested.

"That's true." Yolei confirmed: "Kudamon helped us a lot... only when we were kidnapped by Alphamon... Although she was the real target of him."

"We allowed her to escape at the time." Cody recalled.

"Why did Alphamon attack Kudamon?" was Sora's question.

"No idea." Wormmon replied.

"I suspect because she is a Royal Knight and had opposed King Drasil." Hawkmon mused.

"King Drasil wanted to eliminate her because she had information that would help us." Joe concluded.

"In other words. King Drasil himself is not afraid to attack his subordinates." Shin said.

His voice sounded as if he had something disgusting in his mouth.

"Why hadn't she contacted us?" asked Mimi: "Wouldn't it have been better if we had known what King Drasil was up to with Meicoomon at the time?"

"She was not a spy." Armadillomon explained: "Shortly after learning that King Drasil wanted to attack the human world, she had turned against him."

"That way she couldn't tell us exactly what King Drasil's exact plan was." Ken said.

"But the question arises as to why she hadn't met us." T.K. said.

"She would certainly have been a great help to us." Patamon continued.

"Certainly in the fight against Alphamon and Meicoomon." Biyomon said.

"Probably she didn't know who exactly we were." Tentomon said.

"And where we are!" cried Gomamon.

"If I were Kudamon, I'd rather hide from King Drasil..." Sera looked seriously at the insect digimon.

"Probably she did." Palmon said.

"She will have done that." Izzy concluded.

"It's not nice when you're talking about me behind my back." Kudamon's voice suddenly rang out.

"Kudamon?!" Shin shouted: "What are you doing here?"

"Not just her." Guilmon corrected him.

"What are you doing here?" the redhead asked as calmly as possible.

When they were here, something bad must have happened. The weasel looked at the red dragon before explaining:

"King Drasil is entering your world."

Indisputable, all stared at them.

"Are you serious?!" asked Izzy with his eyes wide open.

"Yes." Guilmon confirmed.

"Then... then we have to stop it!" shouted Sora.

"But..." Tentomon began: "Do we really have a chance against it? I mean we didn't have a chance against Dexmon..."

"We have to try," Mimi said.

"If King Drasil is here then-" Ken began.

"Davis and the others have failed." Wormmon concluded.

"That's true. They failed to stop King Drasil." Kudamon said.

"What can we do then?" asked Biyomon.

"We can all digivolve to our ultimate-level, but..." Palmon digressed.

"Would we be able to defeat King Drasil?" was Gomamon's question.

"We have to try!" said T.K. firmly: "Who else can stop King Drasil?"

"No one!" replied Patamon: "Except us."

"We're not without reason DigiDestined." Cody replied confidently.

"Exactly!" agreed Armadillomon.

"We're going to make it." Joe said euphorically.

/Amazing that Joe is so optimistic.../ Kari thought.

"King Drasil himself makes mistakes after all. It will underestimate us!" cried Yolei.

"Do you think so, Yolei?" Hawkmon asked her.

"Yes." she nodded firmly.

"Then we should go." Guilmon said.

"We will help you..." said Kudamon: "The Homeostasis itself wants us to help you."

"What are we waiting for?" was Shin's question and went to the door.

The others followed him except Sera. She stared out the window.

/Akira... Are you okay?/ she thought: /Or-/

She shrugged as she felt her boyfriend's hand on her shoulder. He smiled at her and put the other hand on her free shoulder. Then he turned her over to himself.

"Don't worry... Akira will be fine." he encouraged her.

"I know..." she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"Where are you?" asked Gomamon.

"We're coming." Mr. Kawa replied, nodding to Akira's mother.

She sighed briefly and followed the others outside.

* * *

Everyone had betrayed him. That's how King Drasil thought. His Royal Knights, who had opposed him. Omnimon, Alphamon, Jesmon, Magnamon, Dynasmon, Duftmon, Examon, Sleipmon and Gallantmon. They had all betrayed him. They all have to die for their betrayal. And those who have incited them to betray, too. These DigiDestined... especially Tai, Matt, Meiko, Davis and Akira. They have all convinced their partner to betray him. He who was their lord. They had once sworn to serve him without exception and to carry out his orders. He who broke the oath had to die.

This is what the god thought when he appeared in the other world in the form of a white woman with large, black wings. The eyes were covered by ribbons and in the mouth sat a series of pointed white teeth. King Drasil had consciously chosen this figure. It wanted Meiko to suffer so badly that Jesmon could no longer be dangerous to him. Finally, each property influenced a different to reach the next shape. But what happened when you tried to destroy a property? Then the other property would no longer reach the next form. Yggdrasil in the form of an Ordinemon caused a lot of excitement among the people and they fled in fear of him.

Eventually, it "saw" the other DigiDestined and their partner.

"W-what is that?" asked Yolei.

"King Drasil." Izzy replied: "who had taken on the form of Ordinemon."

"That's Ordinemon?!" was Ken's incredulous question.

"It's huge!" cried Cody.

"But we will defeat it!" said Mimi optimistically.

"Definitely!" T.K. agreed.

"We will not allow King Drasil to attack our world!" Joe clenched his hands firmly.

"Exactly!" said Sora.

"Yes..." agreed Kari, although she was the only one not to sound so confident.

"So... You annoying DigiDestined..." King Drasil said: "So you want to stop me? Your calculations are wrong. I have consciously taken the form of one of the strongest digimon ever. Your attachment to your partners will not help you, digimon, Sleipmon, and Gallantmon. I will wipe you out."

"You're wrong, King Drasil." Guilmon said: "Digimon are growing stronger by humans."

"Each property influences others to reach their next form... this does not only refer to the connection between individual digimon... it also refers to digimon and humans!" said Kudamon.

"I don't listen to you traitors." the god said, echoing a marker-shattering cry.

"Traitor..." Gallantmons' rookie level repeated: "If you look at us as traitors, I have no doubt who to follow. Guilmon warp-digivolve to... Gallantmon!"

"Kudamon warp-digivolve to... Sleipmon!"

"Biyomon warp-digivolve to... Phoenixmon!"

"Tentomon warp-digivolve to... HerculesKabuterimon!"

"Palmon warp-digivolve to... Rosemon!"

"Gomamon warp-digivolve to... Vikemon!"

"Patamon warp-digivolve to... Seraphimon!"

"Gatomon warp-digivolve to... Magnadramon!"

"Armadillomon warp-digivolve to... Spinomon!"

"Hawkmon warp-digivolve to... Ornithmon!"

"Wormmon warp-digivolve to... BanchoStingmon!"

The Digimon lined up in the circle around King Drasil. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Sleipmon fired an arrow. At the same time, Spinomon spit blue flames on the god and Seraphimon bright-shining spheres. The three attacks collided with Ordinemon, but quickly disappeared.

Phoenixmon flew into the air with Ornithmon, closely followed by Magnadramon and HerculesKabuterimon. King Drasil flapped his black wings and rose into the sky. Several red spheres formed in front of his body, from which the same coloured lasers were fired at the flying digimon a short time later. The flying digimon dodged the rays and then fired their attacks on the enemy.

Gallantmon placed himself above King Drasil and fired a dense beam of light from his lance at him. The attack hit Ordinemon in the back and hurled him back towards the ground. Immediately Vikemon hit Ordinemon with his morning star, but it turned to the side and let go of a scream.

"Argh!" Yolei's partner quipped: "W-what is this?!"

"King Drasil tries... with this attack... to force us... to our rookie level... ..." explained the large insect.

"Not again!" cried the rose woman.

Meanwhile, the six-footed horse flew under the god and rammed her shield into his neck. King Drasil interrupted the scream and hit her with his left arm. Sleipmon was lucky that Guilmon's ultimate-level stood in front of her and intercepted his arm with his shield.

BanchoStingmon then crossed his blades and performed a blow to his left leg, while Spinomon fired several spines at the other leg. Ordinemon screamed briefly before hitting the insect man with one of his wings. But he got himself to safety. Meanwhile, Phoenixmon and Ornithmon placed themselves over King Drasil and fired their attacks on it. Seraphimon clenched his fist and hit it directly into Ordinemon's face. Afterwards, HerculesKabuterimon collected electricity in a sphere, which then entered the god.

King Drasil growled furiously and threw out a laser from his mouth. However, he missed everyone, causing it to end up in the air. One could almost speak of a miracle that the laser had not hit a building.

Gallantmon looked at the other Royal Knight and nodded to her. She herself rushed to the right side of King Drasil, while Guilmon's ultimate-level flew to the left. The two Royal Knights closed their eyes and concentrated. Then a huge distortion appeared about Ordinemon. The god looked up to the distortion and laughed briefly. However, the laugh fell silent all too quickly.

"So you want to bring me into the digital world?!" he exclaimed angrily.

It did not notice how BanchoStingmon, HerculesKabuterimon and Vikemon pushed themselves under him. It wasn't until they rammed their bodies into him that Ordinemon looked down at the three digimon before gathering energy in his mouth. Magnadramon meandered to King Drasil's face and fired a spiral blaze from a short distance.

"So, so..." the god growled: "So you want you to fight me in the digital world? Then you shall have it."

Ordinemon flapped his wings and disappeared into the distortion. Immediately, Sleipmon and Gallantmon followed him, while the digimon landed so that they could carry their partners and Shin and Sera into the digital world.

Arriving in the digital world, the two Royal Knights fought King Drasil. Both had their problems with the god, because it covered them with countless attacks. After the digimon dropped off their friends, they rushed to Sleipmon and Gallantmon to help them. When all the Digimon combined their attacks, Ordinemon again screamed and carried them all away. Then came a targeted attack on each Digimon. Just like that, they could dodge.

"It's strong." Joe said.

"Like the original." Sora said.

"But we're not going to give up!" cried Cody.

"There is far too much at stake." Shin said, observing King Drasil: /Where is his a weakness?/

"Hm..." Izzy pondered as he stared at his laptop.

"I wonder how we can defeat it..." Ken replied thoughtfully.

"It seems to be vulnerable everywhere." Yolei said.

"Everywhere vulnerable..." T.K. repeated: "But where is his weakness?"

"That's a good question." Sera said.

"Back then, we could only defeat Ordinemon with Omnimon..." Mimi recalled.

"But he's not there." Kari said softly.

"No!" the red-brown-haired man suddenly shouted.

"What's going on, Izzy?" asked Spinomon's partner.

"King Drasil is constantly regenerating..."

"In other words?" was the question from Rosemon's partner.

"It... is invincible... as with Dexmon." explained the former digimon emperor.

"Damn..." Matt's brother cursed.

"What can we do?" asked Yolei.

"I have no idea..." a sigh came from Sora's mouth.

"How can we defeat it?" was Kari's question.

"We need an attack that can defeat him in one swoop." Shin said.

"So Jesmon." Joe concluded.

"Jesmon wouldn't be enough." said one voice.

Everyone looked around and recognized Alphamon, on whose shoulders Meiko and Davis rode. Next to him appeared Omnimon, on whose shoulders his partners sat, and Magnamon, Jesmon and Dynasmon. Akira had made herself comfortable on her partner's left shoulder plate. The Royal Knights landed on the ground so that the humans could join their friends. Then they rushed to the other Digimon.

"Akira!" cried Sera, hugging her joyfully.

Her daughter broke free and looked over at her partner, who began to growl furiously. Magnamon wasn't happy with the current situation either, but then his view fell on Sleipmon and Gallantmon.

"I haven't seen two of them for a while." he said with a hint of joy.

The six-footed horse nodded to him briefly.

"I'm happy to see you again, Magnamon-" she said.

"Thank you... Um... Who are you again?" he asked.

"Sleipmon."

"Thank you..."

"Sorry I have to interrupt you two, but..." Guilmon's ultimate-level interrupted and pointed to King Drasil.

"Ordinemon?" Omnimon narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"No." Alphamon said: "That's King Draisl."

"Tse. I'm going to crush it!" growled Wanyamon's ultimate-level.

"Don't rush things, Dynasmon!" Jesmon warned him, letting his blades come out of his arms.

Dynasmon wrapped himself in a bluish aura and released it a little later in the form of a wyvern. Ordinemon wanted to dodge to the side, but blue flames forced it to stay in place.

"We will defeat you!" shouted Spinomon.

Seraphimon created several spheres in front of his body and fired it at the enemy.

"That's right!" the angel-like digimon agreed with the dinosaur.

"You will pay for what you did to Meicoomon." Magnadramon said, biting King Drasil into the left wing before getting to safety as the god wanted to fire a laser at her.

"HerculesKabuterimon! With me!" said Rosemon.

"Understood!" the insect confirmed it, before both let go of their attacks on the enemy.

BanchoStingmon flew on the back of the deity and thrust his weapons into his right wing. Then he jumped behind Vikemon, who erected a barrier.

"Thank you, Vikemon!" the insect man thanked.

"You're welcome." Joe's partner nodded to him.

Meanwhile, the two bird digimon flew high into the air.

"Starlight Explosion!" Phoenixmon fired several energy balls from his wings.

"Cosmic Ray!" Ornithmon shot a beam out of his beak.

The two attacks combined and eventually met King Drasil. He screamed in pain. Then it formed several red spheres around his body, which then smashed into each partner, causing them to slam onto the ground.

Exhausted, all digimon, except for the Royal Knights, returned to their rookie level. Eventually, Gallantmon straightened up and flew into the air before firing a ray of energy from his lance. The attack struck Ordinemon's back, but he hurled Guilmon's ultimate-level away with his left wing. Sleipmon flew frantically to catch him. But Gallantmon's weight buckled her right front leg.

Meanwhile, Magnamon fired several torpedoes and, after the weapons collided with King Drasil's body, raced to the god and punched his fist in his face. Ordinemon growled briefly before firing a beam out of his mouth at Davis' partner. Magnamon hit the ground and digivolved to Veemon.

"Veemon!" his partner shouted and rushed to him.

Worried, he lifted him up.

"Davis..." he quipped.

"Don't worry. The others will make it." he assured him.

"I don't believe..."

"How?"

"King Drasil... regenerates constantly... It is invincible..."

"What?!"

"I'm sorry... If I was stronger then..."

"Don't worry about it. You're strong." he smiled sadly at him, watching Alphamon rise and pull his OwRyuken blade.

Then the black knight flew up and attacked King Drasil. He wanted to attack him with one arm, but Gallantmon attacked the god with a beam of energy fired from his shield.

However, Guilmon's ultimate-level left the force and he had to switch back to his rookie level. Sleipmon directed her crossbow at King Drasil's right wing and fired an arrow that pierced the target. Ordinemon tried to stabilize in the air, but could not, which caused him to shroud a light and change shape. When the light faded, a woman with white skin and a neutral facial expression appeared. In the two hands he held two long, blue rods, which it immediately threw at Jesmon, who stood up. The six-footed horse stood protectively in front of him and held her shield in front of them. The two rods exploded and tossed Sleipmon over. Eventually, she also had to digitize to her rookie level.

Meanwhile, Omnimon had also risen, flying to King Drasil. He again made the rods appear in his hands and shot them at the DigiDestined.

"Meiko!" cried Jesmon, rushing to the humans.

Just in time he reached them and was able to summon Por, Atho and René, who built a protective field. The rods exploded as they did the first time, but this time they did not injure anyone.

The fused digimon rushed up to Alphamon and fired an energy beam at King Drasil in order to protect his black counterpart. The crystal woman dodged to the side and formed the rods into a crystal. He let it shatter and several shards flew towards the two. They tried to dodge, but there were too many. Each sliver that collided with the body ended in a small explosion.

After the hail was over, the knights struggled to keep themselves in the air. Then Alphamon digivolved back to Dorumon and threatened to hit the ground at high speed. Omnimon rushed after him and was able to catch him before he landed on the ground and rushed behind Jesmon. Carefully, he laid the purple dragon on the ground before becoming Agumon and Gabumon.

"I'm sorry." Dorumon apologized: "I can't stop King Drasil."

"Don't worry about it, Dorumon." said the yellow dinosaur.

"It's just too strong for us."

"Jesmon!" suddenly Joe shouted.

"Yes?" he looked at him.

"You can stop King Drasil with your-"

"No. I would die if I used this attack at such a short distance."

"You are the only one who-"

"I just can't do it right now!"

"Jesmon..." Meiko said, looking at him.

"Don't look at me like that, Meiko." the dragon man replied: "I will die if I use Un Pour Tous. And I will not leave you alone."

"Jesmon..." she had tears in her eyes, but swallowed her down.

Tai calmly placed a hand on her shoulder. Meanwhile, Dynasmon straightened up and hit his wings. He flew off King Drasil. Then he growled:

"Do you want that? Do you want that, King Drasil?! Think of those who have sworn to protect you!"

"You're either dead or you're not supporting me." the crystal woman said.

"Because your way is wrong! Your path leads to destruction! As your most loyal knight, I cannot allow you to continue to walk on this path."

"My most loyal knight would never stand up to me."

"I don't oppose you... I just want you to understand that your way is wrong!"

"Silence!"

King Drasil again created a crystal and fired it at Dynasmon from a short distance.

He collided with the body of Wanyamon's ultimate-level and created an explosion that knocked him to the ground. He was left lying on his back as the deity approached him.

"Dynasmon!" cried Akira, and wanted to rush to him.

"Akira, don't!" Sera could just reach for her arm and prevent her from doing her business.

"Let me go, Sera!" she fiercely resisted the firm grip.

"No! You can't do anything!"

"Let me go!" she turned around, giving her mother a resounding slap.

Immediately, Sera had to let go in terror as her eyes widened and began to tear. Meanwhile, her daughter left Jesmons' shelter and ran to her partner. She knelt down to him. Her eyes were widened and she looked at him with concern. Akira tried to ignore the threat of King Drasil, but she did not quite succeed.

"Dynasmon..." she said, putting her two hands in his open claw.

"Get away... Akira..." he gasped and rolled to the side before getting on his feet.

"No!" she shook her head defiantly: "I won't leave you alone."

"Think of your mother."

"Right now I'm just thinking about you... You are my friend, Dynasmon. So I'm not going to leave you alone!" she said, looking at him.

"Do you want to die?"

"I... I'm scared... But..." she interrupted herself as a blue aura wrapped around her partner's body.

Then he let go of a wyvern on the god. King Drasil was caught, but the attack didn't seem to bother him much.

"Dynasmon..." Akira said hesitantly.

Her partner growled when he noticed that the deity was preparing another attack.

"Bring yourself to safety, Akira..." he said: "I can't protect you."

He gritted his teeth as a crystal raced at him and his partner. Without thinking further, he knelt down and placed his claws around Akira. Then the crystal hit his back.

"Dynasmon!" she shouted.

He had narrowed his eyes in pain.

"Go to... to the... others..." he quipped.

"No." she replied.

"You're so stubborn." he raved.

However, he was kind of very happy about it. He gently embraced his partner's body before he straightened up. He placed Akira on his right shoulder plate and looked to the deity.

"Dynasmon." his partner said uncertainly.

"There would be a possibility... I could defeat him..." he began: "But..."

"But what?"

"The attack could cost me my life." he said.

"I will be with you... You know me."

"I know." he closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Then he reopened his lids.

"I am your friend... We will survive it together." she said.

"Are you sure you want to do it?" he asked her.

"Yes. I trust you."

"And I trust you too."

Dynasmon flapped his wings and rose into the air. He closed his eyes again and a blue aura gathered around his body. This aura separated from him and formed several figures. These gathered in his right claw before Wanyamon's ultimate-level reopened the lids.

"Akira... Hold on." he instructed her, before falling into a dive: "Rah!"

Then Dynasmon slammed his fist on King Drasil, causing a huge explosion. Dust, dirt and a shock wave swept across the landscape, knocking down every tree. The DigiDestined and their partners could be glad that Jesmon protected them with the energetic beings. When the explosion disappeared, everyone could see a huge crater. There was no trace of King Drasil.

The dragon man got down on his knees and digivolved back to Hackmon, while Por, Atho and René disappeared. Meiko rushed to him anxiously, while Sera separated from the group and rushed to the crater.

"Akira!" she shouted as she reached the edge of the hole.

Her eyes eventually saw her daughter. Sera rushed down the crater and joined her. Next to her was Wanyamon. Both were unconscious but alive. After a felt eternity, Akira moved and rose up. Immediately, her mother hugged her.

"Akira... Akira, Akira, Akira, Akira!

"Sera..." she replied, exhausted: "Can't… breathe…"

"Sorry." she broke away from her.

Akira could see tears in her mother's eyes, which immediately rolled down her cheek. Her daughter raised her hand and wiped the liquid away.

"Mother..." she said softly, before her gaze fell on Wanyamon: "Wanyamon..."

He moved, but had to cough several times.

"Have we... have we survived?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes... Yes, yes!" Akira confirmed.

The other DigiDestined, their partners, Kudamon and Guilmon rushed down the slope. Everyone was glad that the two had survived a strong attack.

"Where is King Drasil?" asked Matt.

"Yggdrasil is..." the in-training digimon interrupted.

"It's dead." Akira continued.

"How do you know that?" was Guilmon's question.

"We spoke to King Drasil again." Wanyamon said.

"Then it's finally over?" asked Dorumon: "Finally... At last, this nightmare is over."

"No." said the in-training digimon: "The nightmare... It has only just begun."

* * *

**Author's note:** Dun, dun, dun! Over-dramatic sound~!

And that was part two of Digimon Adventure After Tri.


End file.
